


Unconventional

by kersenvla



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3racha also makes music!, 3racha works at a coffee shop, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Attempt at Humor, Drinking Games, M/M, Making Out, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Yang Jeongin | I.N is Whipped, anyway its a real ride, cameos from twice and itzy (very few though), can't handle that, chan and changbin are here to have FUN, felix is an angel, i am a softie, idk how to tag, jeonglix is not really the focus but they get their moments to shine, jisung has anxiety in crowds, kind of minsung focused/jisung focused but a lot of seungjin too, like real patient, lots of comforting each other, lots of soft and as i said lots of comforting each other, no cheating!!!, not too much angst cuz i cant, oh thats right chan is jisung's personal chauffeur, seungmin has shit parents, so rip hyunsung, these tags are a mess sorry, they are a family and they all love each other a lot, unconventional engagements galore, very loosely inspired by skz family the 9th, you gotta be patient for the seungjin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 79,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25547557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kersenvla/pseuds/kersenvla
Summary: AU very loosely inspired by SKZ family the 9th, akaHyunjin and Jisung are best friends and since a week or two they have also been dating. Hyunjin doesn't earn much by dancing, so he has been struggling to pay rent. When he gets a notice he is getting kicked out, Jisung sees only one option to safe him from becoming homeless: propose to him.When Jisung meets two new customers in Chan's coffeeshop the next day, who also happen to be in an unconventional engagement, he doesn't expect to begin to like one of them...
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Hwang Hyunjin, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Kim Seungmin & Lee Minho | Lee Know, Lee Felix/Yang Jeongin | I.N
Comments: 191
Kudos: 115





	1. Something you can afford

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO everyone welcome to this kinda ambitious project of mine!! I have no knowledge of working in a café, so uhhhhhhhhh sorry  
> Also English is not my first language and I kinda proof-read but also there are probably still mistakes here and there. First time posting something I haven't finished yet so this is going to be a real ride for me as well! I will probably still update every other day if not everyday.  
> ENJOY!!

“So, how are you and Hyunjin going? Heard he’s quite busy these days.” Chan leaned against the counters in the break room, dusting his hands on his apron. Jisung sighed.

“Yeah, way too busy…” Jisung pouted, adjusting his apron a bit. “I’m kinda afraid he’ll overwork himself by taking every job he possibly can. Every time I ask him if he has time for a date he says he does, but then he shows up exhausted.”

“That’s rough… and you’ve only been dating for like two weeks, right?” Chan gave him a compassionate look.

“Yeah, but I’m actually mostly just worried about him as my best friend.” Jisung muttered and he knew Chan was probably equally worried about him, Hyunjin was equally his friend.

They both knew Hyunjin from high school and their friend had pursued a career in dancing. Even though Jisung thought the boy was very talented and hard-working when it came to dancing, Hyunjin didn’t get many job offers and it was hard to earn enough, he couldn’t seem to get a steady, long-term offer. He had gotten modelling offers but he had rejected them, wanting to focus on dance. 

A couple of weeks ago Jisung and he had started dating, but Hyunjin had gotten threats from his landlord that he would be kicked out of his apartment if he kept getting behind on his rent, so he started working even harder than he already was. And they hadn’t been able to go on proper dates after their first two.

Chan had offered him an extra job in the coffee shop, but Hyunjin again had said he wanted to focus on dance, that he just needed that one push to get him started. Hyunjin also had the urge to want to do everything himself, accepting help only in the form of a listening ear or a comforting hug.

“Hey, Jisung? You ready to get to work again? Maybe we shouldn’t leave Changbin alone for too long, he’ll get lonely.” Chan patted Jisung on his shoulder. He nodded.

He joined Changbin again in the main part of the shop and he saw him talk to Felix, Chan’s friend from outside of the city, but he still often came all the way to this coffee shop to see Chan, even though the older was usually in the back. Felix was a very sweet guy and Changbin and Jisung had also become friends with him recently.

Jisung briefly greeted the boy, who greeted him back with a sunny smile. It wasn’t very busy in the shop, as it was later in the afternoon already, so Jisung was just planning on chilling behind the counter. It should become busier when everyone would get off work, so he thought he’d take it easy until then.

He was staring into nothingness while he hummed one of the new songs he had made with Chan and Changbin. He thought about some of the songs they were still working on, but his thoughts were interrupted by Changbin’s loud voice.

“Hey! Is that Hyunjinnie?” He exclaimed, pointing outside. “Did he finally come to visit you?”

Jisung frowned and looked outside to see the silhouette of his boyfriend disappear out of his sight.  _ That’s weird, he usually never comes here if he’s busy. Does that mean he isn’t busy? Why isn’t he coming in then? _

He excused himself and went outside. “Hyunjin?” He called out.

Hyunjin stopped walking and slowly turned around, an uneasy expression on his face. “Hey! Jisung, funny to see you here!”

Jisung gave the taller an unamused look. “Funny to see me at my work? Why are you here, Jinnie?”

Hyunjin pressed his lips together, probably debating what to say. Jisung walked over to take him by the hand. “Why don’t you come inside and tell me what’s on your mind?”

The taller boy sighed and followed him into the shop, reluctantly. “I don’t want to disturb you at work, though…”

“It’s not that busy right now, I have time.” Jisung opened the door to the shop and led them inside. “And besides, Changbin and Chan will be happy to see you too.”

And indeed, Changbin happily came over to hug the man. “Hi!”

“Hey! No hugging customers!” Chan exclaimed from behind them and he came over to hug Hyunjin as well. 

“This what I meant with I don’t want to disturb your work!” Hyunjin laughed. “But thanks, I already feel better.”

“Why? What happened then?” Jisung took Hyunjin’s hand again and sat them down. “You can come to disturb me anytime, you know. Changbin will just take over for me.” 

Changbin grumbled something inaudible and Hyunjin laughed again, it was nice to see him laugh, Jisung really liked the way his face scrunched up and whiskers appeared beneath his eyes. He was glad he knew how to make the boy laugh.

“Jinnie, what happened?” He repeated when it got quiet again, dragging his thumb along the back of Hyunjin’s hand. Hyunjin took a deep breath. 

“I got kicked out.” He whispered. “My landlord kicked me out.”

“What?!” Jisung yelled a little too loudly because Hyunjin winced. “Sorry. But, he really kicked you out? Can’t he give you another chance?”

Hyunjin cast his gaze down at his lap, eyes watery. “No, I have used up all my chances. I have a month to get something else.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Jisung exclaimed, but then he remembered he was at work, so he quickly lowered his voice again. “I mean, you already have one of the cheapest, crappiest apartments in the city! How are you going to find something, now?”

“I don’t know, I’ve been looking, but it seems everything is at least twice what I can afford.” Hyunjin started fidgeting with his sleeves and Jisung quickly took his arm and pulled him into a tight hug. His boyfriend was for some reason caressing  _ his _ head.

“It’ll be fine, you can stay at my place.” Jisung held Hyunjin tight as the latter rested his cheek on his shoulder, softly sobbing.

“I can’t though. Remember when you got in trouble because I slept over that one time? Because your landlord thought you were keeping someone in your apartment without them paying rent?” 

“We’ll figure something out, Jinnie, we will.” 

When Jisung pulled out of the hug, he saw some customers walk in and look at them. He greeted them briefly before turning back to his boyfriend. 

“Thanks, Sungie. Sorry to interrupt your work, again.” Hyunjin gave him a short kiss on the cheek and Jisung felt himself get a bit shy at the public display of affection.

“It’s okay. You know that. Why don’t you come by later? I can give you  _ all _ of my attention then.” He stretched the  _ ‘all’ _ and booped the black-haired boy’s nose.

“I will. See you then, boo.” Hyunjin giggled as he pinched Jisung’s cheek while the latter rolled his eyes at the cringey nickname. 

After Hyunjin left, Jisung worked until it was closing time, telling Chan and Changbin about the situation after work, as they were cleaning and closing up. 

“He can stay with me, maybe? I’ll have to make some room and find where to put my equipment, but…” Chan pondered.

“No, Channie, you barely have space for yourself already! I doubt he will accept your offer. I have enough room and Hyunjin is my boyfriend. I’ll just ask my landlord really nicely.” Jisung sighed as he threw his cleaning cloth in the bucket.  _ Sayonara for now, cleaning cloth. _

“He really won’t even accept your boyfriend to live with you?” Changbin asked as they locked up the shop.

“Not if he won’t pay rent, I think. But if I ask nicely she may change her mind.” Jisung shrugged. “Anyway, we'll figure it out. Thanks for your offers, though. See you guys!” 

Jisung waved his friends and coworkers goodbye and began walking home while texting his boyfriend that he was on his way home. After that, he ordered some dinner for the two of them, wondering if he should make things a little romantic tonight. 

  
He had to admit he was a bit tired from work and he imagined Hyunjin would be tired as well. He'd make things romantic another time. He also remembered to text his landlord to set up a meeting and talk before pocketing his phone and rushing home.  _ Time to cuddle my boyfriend.  _

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Really? Come on, Jihyo, you  _ know _ I don't do flings! When have I ever caused a disturbance in the building?” Jisung felt he was close to begging the woman to make an exception as he stood in front of her stern face. 

“Enough times, Han. Every time those two producers come over, for example.” His landlord clicked her tongue, but Jisung knew he was one of her best occupants. 

“That's why we always go over to Chan's now! Please, Jihyo, I get that you don't want people letting their boyfriends or girlfriends or whatever over all the time without paying, but this is different.”

“I'm sorry, but I really can't make an exception. It's in the regulations you can't have someone live with you without them signing a contract unless you are married. It's either pay or not. Sorry.” Jihyo gave him a sorry smile and laid her hands flat on the table to signal the conversation was over. 

Jisung sighed and relented, he knew when to give up. For now. He wasn't going to give up completely, of course, but he just needed to think about his next steps. He bid his landlord goodbye and left the room.

As he left the building he took out his phone from his pocket and pondered for a bit who to call before he dialled Chan's number.  _ Hyunjin said he would be practising this afternoon, I think it's better to first consult with Chan and Changbin.  _

_ “Hello, Sung? Sup?”  _ It sounded from his phone. 

“Hi Channie, you home?” 

_ “Yeah, why? Oh! You just spoke to your landlord, right? Jihyo. Do I need to talk to her as well?”  _

Jisung was surprised he said her name with such familiarity for a second, he had forgotten Chan knew literally everyone. 

“Yeah I did, but no luck yet. You don’t have to talk to her, thanks, though. I actually wanted to talk to you and Changbin about it, what I should do next.” He was already making his way over to Chan's place, even though he didn't know if the older had time. 

_ “Okay, I'll ask Changbin to come over too. See you in a bit.”  _ He had time, apparently. Jisung smiled as Chan hung up and quickened his pace a little, he had a feeling that they would figure it out together. 

Chan's apartment was small, their recording equipment taking up a lot of space, but he didn’t mind. They had gotten a proper studio recently, but since Chan had a habit of writing all night long, Changbin and Jisung had insisted he’d keep some of the equipment so at least he was close to his bed on those nights.

“So,” Jisung began as he sat cross-legged on Chan’s sofa with Changbin on the armrest. He folded his hands over each other. “You guys are probably wondering why I gathered you here—”

“This is my house, though—” Chan interrupted him.

“Yes, but I gathered you here—”

“And we aren’t even wondering, we know you’re going to tell us about how it went with your landlord.” Changbin betrayed him as well. Jisung gave him an exasperated expression.

“ _ Anyway _ —” He started again, looking at his friends pointedly, silently telling them to not interrupt him again. “As I told Chan already, no luck with my landlord yet. She doesn’t want to break the rules, not even for her best resident!”

Jisung checked his friends’ reactions and saw a mix of compassion and doubt. 

“Aw, are your neighbours  _ that _ bad?” Chan asked, with a smile that betrayed that he was kidding. Jisung gave him a  _ look _ and continued.

“She doesn’t want the occupants to bring their ‘flings’ all the time, so she’s pretty strict about having people over without paying, especially for longer periods, you know?” He explained.

Changbin scoffed. “You and flings? She knows you at least a bit, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, I get it, if your neighbours find out, they are  _ definitely  _ going to complain and I don’t think she wants that.” Chan said.

“I know, and I get it as well, but— I just don’t want him to go homeless.” Jisung sighed and slumped against the couch. “I wanted to ask you guys for advice, cuz— What do I do now?”

“Hyunjin still refuses to take another job?” Changbin got off the armrest and plopped down next to Jisung.

“He told me yesterday that he does now regret not taking the modelling offer, but we don’t even know if that would’ve been enough. The training costs money as well and if modelling means giving up dance then I’m sure he would come to regret the decision.” Jisung knew Hyunjin would be a great model and have a high chance of being successful, but he shouldn’t take the risk if he doesn’t think he’ll like it.

“Understandable. What about the coffee shop?” Chan looked at him in a way that said that he knew Jisung had probably already thought and asked about this. “We do need more staff, it’s becoming busier.”

“I told him, yeah, but he’s afraid that either he still won’t earn enough to find something decent without dancing less or that you are going to pay him more than what he works for.” Jisung was afraid he was depicting Hyunjin as difficult and uncooperative or something, but he knew Hyunjin’s concerns were real and his friends knew Hyunjin well, they probably understood.

“I— Okay, those are genuine concerns.” Chan frowned a bit in thought. “What to do… what to do?”

“Okay,” Changbin slapped Jisung’s thigh lightly to get his attention. “Tell us again  _ why _ he can’t live with you. Like what’s exactly in the contract if you know what I mean.”

“So, uhm, Jihyo— my landlord said  _ ‘It's in the regulations you can't have someone live with you without them signing a contract unless’ _ —” He stopped, an idea popping up in his head. Maybe a stupid idea, but it was the only idea he could think of.

“Unless what?” Changbin asked curiously and shook his shoulder a bit. “Hello? Jisung?”

Jisung felt Chan close his mouth for him and he looked him in the eyes. “Finish the sentence?”

“Oh right.” Jisung shook his head, still going over the idea in his head. “So, unless we’re married he can’t live with me without a contract.”

“Oh. Well, that doesn’t help.” Changbin sighed, but Chan squinted at Jisung.

“Jisung… your face.” The oldest of the three pointed at him, finger right between the eyes.  _ He already sees right through me. _

“Wh— what about it?” Jisung pretended to not understand, afraid he would be judged before even proposing his idea.

“Oh my God!” Changbin yelled. “Don’t tell me—”

“Guys! Why are you judging me before I’ve even said anything!” 

“We’re not. Tell us what your idea is.”

“Well, I can ask him to marry me.” Jisung almost whispered the last two words, a sudden blush creeping up his neck. He didn’t want to think of what marrying Hyunjin would imply right now, his priority being to help his dear friend and boyfriend out.

“I’m judging!” Changbin repositioned himself to sit on his knees and lean on his arms, toward Jisung. “That’s kinda rash, don’t you think? And  _ I’m _ saying it, not even Chan!”

“I know, but, look— it's— I don't know what else to do! I was already planning on taking him on a romantic date, so—” 

“Jisung, you guys have been dating for  _ two weeks. _ ” Chan said it as if Jisung didn't know that himself. 

“I know! It's gonna be just on paper, so we can live together. It's not that uncommon that best friends get married for reasons like this.” Jisung defended himself. He was beginning to doubt if coming here to discuss this was a good idea, but then again he wanted his friends to support him and Hyunjin. “Do you guys have a better idea? This way he'll have time to dance as much as he needs to get the recognition he needs.”

“You're right, but—” Chan started, but didn't finish his sentence, instead searching for the right words. 

“But…? If I want Hyunjin to have a home next month, I need to hurry a bit. So— will you guys help me?” Jisung decided to just straight up ask for help, despite his friends' worries. He needed to be fast, getting married in a month probably wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Maybe he could sway his landlord in being lenient if they were at least engaged.

His friends were quiet, which was better than them rejecting the idea. 

“Look, I know friends marry each other sometimes, but you guys are in the beginning stages of dating. I don’t know if this is the best idea for your relationship.” Chan said. “I don’t want you guys ruining things.” 

“I don’t think we will, we’ve known each other for a very long and we can talk. It’s because we’re in our beginning stages that we can think about this as a platonic marriage for now, you know?” Jisung appreciated the concern, but he really didn’t need his friends worrying about him when he had a proposal to plan. 

“Okay, that makes sense. If you’re confident it’ll work out, do it, I guess.” Changbin shrugged. “I guess I would marry one of you guys as well if you were kicked out and this was the only way, but I’m not dating you.”

“Yeah.” Chan said shortly, giving him a hesitant, but encouraging smile.

He waited for one of his friends to say something else and when they didn’t, he stood up and clapped his hands together with a smile. “If you guys have any tips for me, for a romantic proposal, hit me up! I have some planning to do!”

His friends laughed at him, telling him he shouldn’t ask their single asses for proposal advice. Jisung told them he never said he wanted  _ good  _ tips.

As he left he immediately texted Hyunjin to call him and plan a date together, before taking the bus to the city centre to look for a ring he could afford. 

* * *

Jisung found himself frozen in front of a glass cabinet of way too expensive engagement rings. His cheeks were warm and his heart was pounding in his ears. Did he even know the size of Hyunjin’s hands? 

He curled his fingers to try and remember the size of his boyfriend’s hands in his own. He knew that the boy’s hands were way bigger than his own and that his fingers were slender, but his own fingers couldn’t remember the exact feeling.

A more familiar place where Hyunjin would place a hand was on the back of Jisung’s head. He unconsciously brought his fingers to his head as he almost felt his boyfriends fingers in his hair, his hand almost as big as Jisung's head. 

Jisung felt warm and a bit awkward, thinking about this in public, but he needed to know. He tried replicating the gesture with his own hand, comparing the feeling to when Hyunjin would do it. It was kinda embarrassing, but he pretended to just scratch his head after. 

_Okay, I think his fingers are about as broad as mine,_ Jisung concluded. He tried looking for a simple ring, something that wasn’t too fancy, something that could be interpreted as friendship rings or something, something that was _affordable_.

Hyunjin had to like it as well and, even though Jisung knew his taste in clothes and accessories, nothing looked _right_. 

He sighed and contemplated asking his friends for help, but Changbin and Chan were probably going to tell him that he should at least pick the ring himself, that he would know best. Why didn’t anything seem right, then? Why was every ring in this goddamn store either too fancy and expensive, too ugly or too plain?

After making his way through the store for the sixth time, Jisung finally decided to accept help from an employee.

“So, what are you looking for, sir?” The woman asked a simple question, but Jisung already panicked. _Do I say I’m looking for an engagement ring, but I’m broke? Do I say I’m looking for a gift for a dear friend?_

“A ring,” he began. “It’s for my boyfriend.”

“An engagement ring?” The woman gestured to a couple of fancy rings with gems in them that looked more expensive than Jisung’s life.

“Uhm, we aren’t together for that long.” He decided to say, instead of answering.

“Oh, okay, so you are looking for something that’ll convince him to marry you? Or just a gift?” The woman first grabbed the most extravagant ring in the store, to show off, and then showed him a simpler ring.

“More something like the second one.” He pointed to the simpler model.

“Okay, come with me, we have some more simple rings over here. What does your boyfriend like?” 

“He likes classy and sleek stuff. He has— He has very long fingers, slender, about the same size as mine.” Jisung hesitantly showed his right hand to the employee, where a ring already decorated his index finger. 

“Okay.” She examined his hand and ring before looking back into the cabinet and picking out a ring. “What about this one?” 

_What?_ How could he have missed this ring? It was a simple one, a bit thick, but not too thick and engraved with a slim and stylish line. The woman handed him the ring to try on and it fit perfectly. _This is perfect!_

“And? What do you think?” She asked, a satisfied smile on her face. Before he could answer her, his phone rang, making him jump. ‘ _Jinnie uwu_ ’.

“Excuse me, it’s my boyfriend.” He apologized and the woman nodded, silently telling him to take the call. Jisung turned his back to her to answer. Of course Hyunjin would call just as he’s buying him a ring.

“Hey, Jinnie. What’s up?” He asked and he heard his boyfriend laugh.

_“What do you mean ‘what’s up’? You texted me to tell me to call you, you idiot!”_ Hyunjin laughed.

“Of course! I knew that!” Jisung laughed his awkwardness away, distracted from it by Hyunjin’s cute laugh. “I wanted to ask you when you’re free for that romantic date I promised you?”

_“Oh? A romantic date hmm? I can’t say no to that. Is it going to be as romantic as that time you wrote a rap about me, but you misspoke and_ — _”_

“Shut it! Don’t remind me of that!” Jisung almost yelled but remembered to keep his voice down in the store. 

_“Hmm? You’re whispering? Are you in public?”_

“Yes I am, so please don’t bring up any more embarrassing things I’ve done. This date _will_ be romantic.” He said with a bit too much confidence because he didn’t have a clue yet what he was going to do. “When are you free?”

_“I have some more practice tonight, but tomorrow night I can make some time. Or is that too soon?”_

“No.” Jisung blurted out before he could think about it. “The sooner the better.”

_“Okay!”_ Hyunjin sounded adorably excited. _“See you tomorrow then, Sungie. Kissies!”_

Hyunjin said goodbye with a smooch-sound and Jisung did it back, his kiss-sound muffled slightly by a giggle. “See you tomorrow, honey-buns.”

The phone call ended with a cackle from Hyunjin. Jisung smiled at his phone and turned back to the employee, pointing at the ring on his finger.

“How much is it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get it!! Feel free to leave comments :))))


	2. The proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they stepped outside of Hyunjin’s apartment building, Hyunjin had expected to walk to the station together, not to see a car in front, waiting for them. Chan stood next to it, opening the door to the backseat as if it were a limousine.
> 
> “How much were you paid?” It probably wasn’t the best thing to say as soon as he saw the car, but he just really didn’t expect Jisung to have put so much effort into this date.
> 
> Chan let out a loud laugh and Jisung scoffed. “I didn’t have to pay him! Channie gladly helps me. I only had to clean the studio.”
> 
> Hyunjin giggled as he stepped inside and pulled Jisung with him into the back seat. Chan got in front and gave them a look through the rearview mirror. 
> 
> “No making out in my car, that’s the only rule.” He said sternly as he started the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romantic date time!! Let's enjoy the hyunsung content while we can.... sfjlsdfkjsljdkf

Hyunjin examined his hair once more, making sure all strands were in place. Then he checked his eyeliner before looking at his whole appearance. He was wearing a trendy black suit, the jacket closed to hide his tank underneath. His exposed collarbones were decorated with a double slim silver necklace and his hair loose and out of his face.  _ This should do it. _

He had even put on some brown eyeshadow, something he usually only did when performing. Tonight was a special night, though, he would go on a date with his boyfriend. A  _ real _ date. It would be romantic, Jisung had said, so he wanted to look his best. 

They had only been on two real dates since they had begun dating as Hyunjin had been either busy or really tired. It’s not like they never went out together when they were friends, though. This was a bit different, Hyunjin would’ve not cleared out his schedule for just a friendly date, not even practice like he did tonight.

He felt all giddy, looking forward to finally spending some quality time with his boyfriend. He was so busy dancing he didn’t realize he was being very selfish by not being available the first weeks of being together, he didn’t even realize he was torturing himself in the process.

He only realized when he visited the coffee shop a couple of days ago that he  _ really _ missed his boyfriend, that he was missing out on hours of time spent with him, kissing the cute boy and actually  _ dating _ . He had been too focused on dancing and forcefully looking for ways to make more money with it.

Now that he was officially kicked out, he realized that forcing things didn’t make things go faster. He was worried about what to do, but he still had a month to figure things out, so, for now, he let himself just enjoy a romantic date with his boyfriend.

Jisung would pick him up in about five minutes, but the bell rang already. He took one last look in the mirror before opening the door. Hyunjin’s eyes went slightly wide at the sight of his smaller boyfriend, who was dressed in a suit as well, a belt showing off his tiny waist. His hair was neatly styled out of his face, showing off those pretty round eyes that caused butterflies to whirl around in his stomach.

Hyunjin was surprised that Jisung had put at least as much effort into his appearance as Hyunjin himself had. The boy looked slightly nervous as he greeted him, though.

“Hi Jinnie. You look— You look just— Wow. Am I early? I am, huh?” He rambled and Hyunjin laughed.

“Are you nervous, Sungie? Why? You look great. And yeah, you’re a bit early, but I’m ready.” He turned around to grab his stuff, ready to leave.

“I’m a bit nervous, because— I kinda planned this a bit last minute.” Jisung chuckled and it was so cute that Hyunjin just had to give him a short kiss.

“Always improvising, huh? I have prepared for something like that.” Hyunjin tried to ease his boyfriend’s nerves by joking around a bit and he earned a light shove.

“Does my look seem improvised to you?” Jisung gestured at his face. “I may not have to work for a face like this, but I’ll have you know I did work to make myself look pretty. And I have actually prepared things!”

“Okay, okay. I believe you. You look pretty, I already said that! And I’m really looking forward to this date, improvised or not! You are Mister Improvisation Master after all.” He placed his hands on Jisung’s shoulders as they walked outside.

“Mister Improvisation Master?” Jisung repeated mockingly. 

“M.I.M.” Hyunjin confirmed. 

As they stepped outside of Hyunjin’s apartment building, Hyunjin had expected to walk to the station together,  _ not _ to see a car in front, waiting for them. Chan stood next to it, opening the door to the backseat as if it were a limousine.

“How much were you paid?” It probably wasn’t the best thing to say as soon as he saw the car, but he just really didn’t expect Jisung to have put so much effort into this date.

Chan let out a loud laugh and Jisung scoffed. “I didn’t have to pay him! Channie gladly helps me. I only had to clean the studio. ”

Hyunjin giggled as he stepped inside and pulled Jisung with him into the back seat. Chan got in front and gave them a look through the rearview mirror. 

“No making out in my car, that’s the only rule.” He said sternly as he started the car.

“Where are we going?” Hyunjin asked as Chan began to drive without getting any instructions from Jisung. “Or is it a surprise?”

“It’s a surprise, but don’t expect too much.” Jisung said while taking a hold of Hyunjin’s hand. Hyunjin squeezed it and noticed it was quite sweaty.  _ He really is nervous. _

He turned in his seat to face Jisung, his hand taking Jisung’s chin and making them look at each other. Hyunjin gave him a smile. 

“Don’t be nervous.” He said before connecting their lips in a short kiss. It was long enough to feel the younger relax against him, though.

“I’m trying.” Jisung gave him a sheepish smile, before adding softly: “I just hope you like it.”

“I already like it.” 

They arrived at a restaurant, nothing too fancy, but sophisticated enough that they weren’t overdressed. 

“Text me when I have to come pick you up again! Have fun you two.” 

“Thanks, Channie!” They both thanked the older as they got out of the car.

Jisung led Hyunjin inside by his arm, even pulling out the chair for him as they sat down. Hyunjin couldn’t help but laugh. “How gentlemanly of you! Jisung, you are really going all out tonight, huh?”

“Yes of course! You just got kicked from your apartment, the least I can do is take you out on a romantic date.” Jisung brought up the subject a bit hesitantly. “You know I go all or nothing.”

“I know, thank you. I really appreciate it.” Hyunjin kicked him lightly under the table to show his thanks. 

They ordered a drink and some food while talking about their day, catching up on the situation in the coffee shop and at the dance studio. Hyunjin still had to meet this Felix boy one day. When their food arrived, they fell silent for a bit and Hyunjin saw there was something Jisung wanted to say.

“What is it, boo?” Jisung almost spat out his food at the nickname.

“God I hate that nickname.” He giggled. “Anyway,  _ honey buns _ , I’ll tell you later.”

“Why?” Hyunjin whined. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“I know.” Jisung rolled his eyes with a smile. “I just— I want to ask you something later, I don’t want to do it now, because, uhm, we’re in public.” 

Hyunjin felt a blush creep up his neck.  _ He wants to ask me something he can’t ask in public? Does he mean…?  _

Hyunjin had to admit Jisung looked particularly attractive tonight, but he didn't know if he was ready for… something that Jisung couldn't ask him in public. 

He tried to stop his thoughts from going astray, into territory that wasn't appropriate for dinner, but he couldn't help but be curious. 

What was Jisung thinking? What did he want to ask? The only thing he could think of, what his boyfriend could be thinking about during a romantic date he had planned, but couldn't ask in public, was… 

_ Something someone shouldn't be thinking about in public! We haven't even had our first make-out session! Really, what is he think— _

“Hyunjin, why aren't you eating?” Jisung looked him straight in the eyes and Hyunjin felt his face  _ burn.  _ “Huh? What is it? What—  _ What _ are you thinking?!” 

“It's your fault for saying you want to ask me something that can't be asked in public!” Hyunjin accused him. 

“What?! I didn't say that! I meant— It  _ is _ something people can ask in public, it's just that I feel nervous asking you in public!” Jisung's face was bright red as well now. He puffed his cheeks. “Jeez, you dirty-minded boy.”

“You should've been clearer, then.” Hyunjin picked up his utensils and started picking at the food. 

“We haven't even— I mean, we're not that far into— We haven't ever come close to that, you know.” Jisung was still talking, even though Hyunjin was ready to let it go. 

“I know that! That's why I was surprised because I couldn't think of anything else you'd want to ask me in private, which could come after a romantic dinner.” 

“I don't think you'll be able to think of what I want to ask you.” Jisung whispered to himself. That made Hyunjin even more curious. “Let's talk about something else.”

The slight awkward atmosphere soon faded as they changed the subject while enjoying their meal. Hyunjin found out again just how good Jisung was at making him laugh. By the time they ordered and finished dessert, Hyunjin's cheeks and stomach were hurting. 

He realized just how much he had missed hanging out like this with his friend. It made him forget all worries he had earlier. 

Hyunjin called Chan while Jisung took care of the bill. They walked outside to wait for Chan and Hyunjin took a deep breath of fresh air. 

“Thank you, Sungie~ It was very romantic tonight. And fun. I've missed it— you.” He slung an arm around his boyfriend and swayed them a little. 

“I told you.” Jisung grinned and Hyunjin sighed. “And— I missed you too.”

Jisung turned around under Hyunjin's arm to face the taller. He brought his small hands to Hyunjin's face, Hyunjin leaning down to meet the touch. 

Jisung's hands were kind of dry, but Hyunjin nonetheless enjoyed the sensation of them on his cheeks. Jisung kissed him, his soft lips contrasting the feeling of his hands. 

Hyunjin wrapped one arm around his boyfriend’s chest, pulling him closer. The way the younger stumbled told Hyunjin that the boy was standing on his toes. He felt butterflies invade his chest.  _ He is so cute.  _

Hands slid along his face to his neck, arms eventually crossing behind his head as their kiss went on. Hyunjin felt like he could go on for a while, it was dark out and not many people around the parking lot of the restaurant, but they were interrupted by a phone call. 

_ Chan exists,  _ Hyunjin remembered. And yes, he was calling to say that he had arrived. They parted and got into the car, Chan started up the car and asked them if they wanted to talk about the date.

It was a good distraction to talk about their date, instead of continuing where they left off and breaking Chan’s only rule. As they spoke, Hyunjin remembered that there was something Jisung wanted to ask him. 

“Oh, Sungie, what did you want to ask me?” Hyunjin turned to the brown-haired boy and he didn’t notice Chan eyeing them through the rearview mirror. 

“Be patient, honey buns.” Jisung chuckled and patted him on his thigh, while Hyunjin pouted and slumped against the backseat. 

“God damnit, boo.” He complained and Jisung cackled. 

Suddenly the younger snapped his head to the side looking outside. “Oh, wait, Channie! It’s here!”

_ Huh, there’s more planned?  _ He turned to look outside as well and he saw they were nowhere near his house, instead they parked along a street with closed shops. 

“Let’s go out for a bit, I want to ask you something.” Jisung opened the car door and took Hyunjin by the hand to drag him out. Was Jisung going to ask him the Thing now? They technically were still in public, but no one was out here at this time. There wasn’t even an open bar nearby.

Jisung took him a little way down the street and stopped in front of a certain familiar shop. The boy looked at the shop and then at Hyunjin, eyes asking if he recognized it.  _ Of course  _ he did. 

They were standing in front of the ice cream parlour where Hyunjin first told Jisung how he felt about him, after which Jisung had given him a kiss while there were still crumbs of chocolate cheesecake on his lips. 

“Why did you take me here to ask? No wait, don’t answer, I know the answer. It’s romantic as hell.” Hyunjin smiled brightly. “What did you want to ask me?”

Jisung fidgeted a bit with the rings on his fingers, looking down at his feet before meeting Hyunjin’s eyes. “I asked my landlord to make an exception to the rules for you, you know, I even played my ‘I-am-your-best-resident’ card and stuff. But, she is not that easily convinced, so it didn’t work.”

Jisung stuffed his hands in his pockets and Hyunjin felt a bit sorry to have his boyfriend go through the trouble to try and convince his strict landlord. “It’s okay.”

“Well, there  _ is _ a way you can live with me, though.” Jisung said and Hyunjin saw his cheeks were slightly red as they were illuminated by a faint streetlight. Jisung swallowed, hands still in his pockets. “The regulations say that— you can’t have someone live with you without signing a contract unless…”

Hyunjin’s heart was pounding in his chest in anticipation, although he didn’t have the slightest clue what he was going to say. That was until the boy got on one knee and took out a small black box from his pocket.

“...Unless we are married.” He opened the box and Hyunjin’s eyes got wide as he saw two rings glinting in the faint moonlight. “So, will you marry me, Hwang Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin was speechless. Jisung was right about him not being able to guess what he was going to ask him. He didn’t know what to say, they hadn’t even been dating for a month and here his boyfriend was, on one knee asking him to marry him, so they could cheat the system and live together.

“It’s just a formality for now, so, if you want to live with me, you can say yes. No strings attached.” Jisung said. “You can also decline, I won’t blame you.”

Hyunjin felt tears prickle his eyes for some reason. He felt so touched that Jisung would do this for him. He shook his head, trying to stop himself from crying, and he held his hand out. 

“Yes. I’ll live with you, marry you.” Hyunjin took Jisung’s hand to help him up and accept one of the two rings on his ring finger, sliding the other on Jisung’s. He snatched a kiss after.

“Jesus, I’m shaking.” Jisung chuckled as they parted. “I don’t know why— well, I do, this is kind of a  _ thing _ , you know.” 

Hyunjin was aware that marrying was kind of a thing, yes, but he and Jisung have known each other since middle school and they were very close. He was sure they’d figure it out together.

“It is, but we’re a team. And, you said it’s just a formality for now, so nothing has to change. Except for that I have somewhere to live now.” Hyunjin ruffled Jisung’s styled hair carefully, letting his hand rest on the back of his head for a bit. “I get it now, why you didn’t want to ask me this in public.”

“I was a bit afraid of catching too much attention and… I didn’t know how you were going to react. I didn’t expect you to react this positively.” Jisung chuckled as they began walking back to the car. “But maybe I kinda should’ve expected it, since I brought you here and you’re a huge sap.” 

Hyunjin barked out a laugh. “Yes I am, but that doesn’t have anything to do with why I said yes, only with why I almost cried.”

“Crybaby.”

“Says you.” 

Jisung rolled his eyes as he opened the car door to let Hyunjin in.

“And?” Chan asked, turning around in his seat.

“I said no, quick, Chan, drive away!” Hyunjin exclaimed as he crawled into the car.

“Ya! If you had said no, I wouldn’t have opened the door for you.” Jisung got into the car as well and Chan laughed.

“Where to?” He asked for the first time tonight and it fell silent for a bit, Hyunjin and Jisung meeting eyes.

“You wanna come over to see if my apartment is okay?” Jisung asked as if Hyunjin hadn’t been over a thousand times already. Hyunjin nodded and squeezed their hands together, he had to show Jisung his thanks.

* * *

As soon as Jisung closed the door to his apartment behind him, Hyunjin cupped his face to kiss him, the younger stumbling back against the door but quickly regaining himself to return the kiss. Hyunjin pulled back to catch his breath for a second, looking down at his boyfriend— no, fiancé. 

“You’re reacting  _ really _ positively.” Jisung joked with a smirk.

“Of course, we have some catching up to do. And I have to thank you for helping me out.” Hyunjin chuckled as their noses brushed.

“You know we still have to get married before you can officially move in?” Jisung asked, face centimetres from the boy. 

“Yeah, but maybe your landlord will be less strict about a fiancé than a boyfriend.”

Hyunjin didn’t wait a second after finishing his sentence to close the minuscule gap left between them. He felt himself heat up as he deepened the kiss. 

They went on for a bit, eventually ending up on Jisung’s bed. As Hyunjin moved to kiss Jisung’s jaw, he was pushed away lightly.

“Wait— Wait a second.” Jisung breathed, face red. The boy took a second to catch his breath and chewed on his lower lip a bit. “I have work tomorrow morning. I can’t show up to customers with marks on my neck.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Hyunjin sat upright on Jisung’s legs. “Maybe I shouldn’t keep you up for too long either.”

“Sorry.” 

“No, don’t apologize, I’m now getting tired as well, as the adrenaline is fading.” Hyunjin chuckled and patted Jisung’s cheek. “Let’s take off our make up and go to sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gosh i am reading this back and.... gosh.... i am a sap....


	3. Cat and Puppy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He got to the cash register and saw someone looking at the menu on the wall behind him already. The boy looked about his own age, with a cute puppy-like face, but he had never seen him before. Jisung looked around the store and saw another figure sitting at a table, looking outside. 
> 
> Even though Jisung only saw his side profile, he looked handsome. He had a sharp nose and equally sharp eyes, his lips were sticking out a bit. He looked a bit like a cat. Jisung also didn’t recognize him and he wondered where the cat and puppy had come from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the first appearance of two certain someones..... ;)

Changbin almost knocked Jisung over with the power of his loud voice as he heard about the events of last night.

“NICE SUNG!” He yelled. Chan quickly shushed him, as customers might hear him. And because it was like 8.15 am on a Saturday morning.

“Yeah, he really took it well.” Jisung smiled shyly as he quickly tied his apron to go to the front of the store. There were customers already, even though the store hadn’t been open for much longer than fifteen minutes. 

He got to the cash register and saw someone looking at the menu on the wall behind him already. The boy looked about his own age, with a cute puppy-like face, but he had never seen him before. Jisung looked around the store and saw another figure sitting at a table, looking outside. 

Even though Jisung only saw his side profile, he looked handsome. He had a sharp nose and equally sharp eyes, his lips were sticking out a bit. He looked a bit like a cat. Jisung also didn’t recognize him and he wondered where the cat and puppy had come from.

The puppy looked at him after a couple of seconds and Jisung smiled his fake smile, but this time it was a bit less fake than usually this early in the morning. “Hi, how can I help you?”

“Uhm, can I get a milk tea and a— uhm, what was it again?” The boy frowned and turned his head back. “Minho, what did you want again?”

The cat boy— Minho— sighed. “Iced Americano.” He said very slowly while making weird and equally slow movements with his hands.

The puppy turned back with a very unamused expression. “I think you heard him as well. It’s for here, by the way.”

Jisung nodded and almost couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Coming right up. Do you want the order under one name or separately?”

The brown-haired puppy thought for a second before answering. “One name, his name is Minho, M-E-A-N-H—”

“Hey! I thought we were supposed to get along.” Minho got up from his seat and walked over to the other boy, who was giggling like a child. “And— don’t steal my joke, Seung _ mean _ .”

The puppy— Seungmin?— just kept giggling and the smaller of the two, but still a little taller than Jisung, turned to face Jisung. Now that he saw him from the front he had to stop himself from gasping at the customer’s handsome face.  _ This guy is Hyunjin level handsome… _

“Hi— are you Chan? No, you’re— Han Jisung?” The handsome guy squinted to read Jisung’s name tag and then turned to his companion and pointed to Jisung. “Do we know him? Wait— don’t answer, I think I remember Felix mentioning his name.”

_ Ah, so they are friends of Felix? Does Chan know them as well? No, that Minho guy just asked me if I was Chan.  _ Jisung was getting really curious about this duo.

“You know what? I’ll bring you your order myself later, there aren’t many customers at this hour anyway.” Jisung chuckled. “Who will pay?”

“I will— Wait, I left my wallet in my jacket, I guess you’ll pay.” Minho shrugged.

“I already said I was going to pay, now sit your ass down.” The taller brown-haired boy ordered the shorter brown-haired boy, who sighed and mumbled a ‘see you later’ to Jisung.

“Sorry for him, he’s a bit, uhm, well, he’s always like that, but we’ve just moved in near here today and we’re supposed to get along and we do— but— Wait why am I telling you this? Here take this, keep the change.” Seungmin (?) gave him about twice what he owed and turned around to join Minho again, leaving an even more curious Jisung behind the counter.

He quickly got to preparing their drinks and preparing himself to ask the boys how they knew Felix and maybe some more questions. He hoped it wouldn’t be too busy this Saturday morning.

“A milk tea and an iced americano for you generous friends of Felix!” He announced as he brought them their drinks. He was feeling kind of bold, the adrenaline from last night still lingering, so he decided to strike up a conversation with the two. “Can I ask you how you know him? He often visits here.”

“Yeah, we used to live near him. I know him from school and Minho is his cousin actually.” The puppy said. “Felix actually recommended this coffee shop to us, saying Chan is a good friend of his and that the coffee is good. My name is Kim Seungmin, by the way.”

“Han Jisung.” Jisung gestured at his name tag.

“Lee Minho.” Minho took a sip of his drink. “This is a pretty good iced americano, Han Jisung.”

“Thanks, Chan taught me the basics, but I got good because I wanted to make myself some nice iced americano.” Jisung definitely wouldn’t normally talk to customers like this, but he also wasn’t this curious about them normally.

“You have great taste.” Minho said and Jisung was a bit taken aback by the man, giving such a compliment with a casual smile.

“Minho, are you flirting with the cashier? I thought this was supposed to be a date.” Seungmin asked, but he didn’t sound jealous at all. Like  _ at all _ .

“I’m not.” Minho shrugged. “And I’m trying, okay? But I also think we should maybe make some friends here. I really like this iced americano, so let’s come here more often. Maybe we’ll feel a spark right here in this coffee shop.”

Jisung didn’t really get what they were saying. Were they a couple or were they just joking around? Suddenly Minho laughed at Jisung.

“You’re not making friends by laughing at him. You can’t blame him for not understanding what you’re talking about.” Seungmin slapped the laughing individual. Jisung frowned, thinking of a question to ask them, but at that moment he heard the sound of the door open.

“Hey, Seungminnie, Minho! Oh! You’ve met Jisung already. He’s nice, huh?” Felix sounded and Jisung turned around to greet the boy. 

“He seems nice, but he’s also pretty confused.” Minho grinned. 

“Yeah, I get that, your whole  _ thing _ or something is confusing.” Felix rolled his eyes and sat down at the table with the two other boys before turning to Jisung. “One second they’re pretending they hate each other and the next they’re making sure the other has eaten. Confusing as heck, right? They secretly like each other though, although maybe not in a romantic way yet.”

“Yet?” Jisung asked. Was Felix trying to set them up? Wait, but then why did Seungmin say that their visit to the coffeeshop was supposed to be a date? Felix pulled out a chair and patted it.

“Here, sit. I’ll tell you.” 

Minho barked out a laugh at Felix willing to spill their story. Seungmin just sat back and accepted it with a sigh.

“So, I don’t know how much you already know, but I’ll stick to the basics. Minho is my cousin and Seungmin is a good friend of mine and they’ve become friends as well and they’re kinda in an arranged marriage because of business blablabla, Seungmin has to take over the business blablabla boring reasons, anyway, they’re now trying to date and stuff, you know, see if they fall in love and if they can have a normal marriage.” Felix explained. It was a lot.

Jisung turned to the two boys, who were both casually sipping their drinks. “Damn.”

“Yeah. I’m not really feeling anything though.” Seungmin deadpanned.

“Can I ask you guys why you are in an arranged marriage? Is Minho rich?” Jisung couldn’t help but ask, he thought arranged marriages like this only happened in the drama’s Hyunjin was always watching, but then again, it wasn’t like he had married his boyfriend of a little over two weeks yesterday.

“Uhm, not really, just— Let’s say he’s good publicity.” Seungmin shrugged, his expression a bit sour.

“Oh, because of his handsome face?” Jisung blurted out and quickly shot a hand in front of his mouth. The three boys around him burst out in laughter. “I mean— I mean I can see that people could think you’re handsome, I’m not flirting, I have a—”

“It’s okay, Han Jisung.” Minho laughed as he patted him on the shoulder.

“What’s all this sound?” Changbin suddenly appeared next to the table.

“Hi, Binnie! Seungmin, Minho, this is Changbin. Changbin, these are Seungmin and Minho, the two I was telling you about a couple of days ago when Jisung left early.” Felix introduced everyone.

“Yo, do you tell everyone you meet about us?” Seungmin laughed.

“What? No, only my friends. And I told you guys about them too!” Felix defended. 

“Cool. Nice to meet you guys.” Changbin nodded at them.

Unfortunately, another customer soon entered the shop and Jisung had to get back to work. He wanted to talk to Felix and his friends a bit more, he felt like they got along pretty well for a first meeting, while normally Jisung would struggle with strangers.

He secretly watched the two boys go from bickering to silently sipping their drink to talking with each other normally in record time. It was pretty funny, but he also felt kind of bad that they had to marry each other, while their feelings for each other were seemingly strictly platonic.

When the two boys left the shop, they waved at Jisung and Changbin. He hoped that Minho hadn't been lying when he said they would be coming here a lot. Felix stayed around for a while as usual, even offering them to help out a bit when it got busy. 

“We really need to hire someone else.” Chan said as he came to the front to help out, leaving the kitchen for once. “I'll go on the lookout.”

  
  


When work ended Jisung was absolutely beat. It seemed that Felix's friends weren't the only ones who suddenly decided to visit their cafe on this Saturday. He texted Hyunjin to ask him about his day shortly while he plopped down on his bed.

Luckily the cafe was closed on Sundays so he didn't have to work. He hoped Hyunjin would be free tomorrow to help him begin planning the wedding. He also needed to ask his landlord if a fiancé was allowed to live with him without a contract for a while. 

_ So much to do… I should also have some dinner maybe.  _

Jisung got up with a groan and heated up some instant noodles to munch on and threw himself on the bed again immediately after finishing it. He found himself drifting asleep, exhaustion winning over worries eventually. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;))) next chapter jeongin makes his appearance!


	4. New guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Chan makes a damn good cheesecake, but maybe I’m a bit biased.” Jisung started making their order in advance and Felix and Jeongin watched him. He felt a bit nervous being watched. 
> 
> “Why?” 
> 
> “You mean why is the cheesecake so good or why am I biased?” Jisung looked up at the boys for a brief second, checking if there weren’t any other customers waiting behind them.
> 
> “Yes.” Minho answered helpfully and Jisung couldn’t help but laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> new coworker...?! 
> 
> enjoooooyyyy

It was Monday morning and Jisung dragged himself to work after an eventful weekend. He spent the whole Sunday planning and organizing his thoughts about the wedding. 

Hyunjin had been busy almost all day, but they called each other and talked for about an hour. He also met with Changbin and Chan to work some more on some songs. 

It was about five hours after he'd come back home after that now and he was beat before the day had even started. He could really use some coffee right now. 

As he approached the shop he saw an unfamiliar figure waiting in front. The boy had narrow eyes but looked wide awake. He was quite a bit taller than him, but not as tall as Hyunjin. 

_ Oh is this the new boy? That is fast. Chan really works fast. I guess that’s a benefit from knowing literally everyone. _

As soon as the boy saw Jisung approaching he smiled a dazzling smile, one that made Jisung feel more awake in an instant. 

“Hi.” He said and his eyes disappeared as he smiled. 

“Good morning, are you the new guy?” Jisung greeted him and the boy nodded. 

“Yang Jeongin, you work here too, I assume?” He held out a big hand.  _ About as big as Hyunjin's.  _

“Han Jisung, nice to meet you.” He shook the hand. After that, it was silent for a while and Jisung wondered if he should say something, but he was tired and bad at small talk. And annoyed Chan wasn't here yet. 

His new coworker, however, couldn't stop smiling for some reason. It wasn't an obvious one, but every time Jisung looked in his direction, he looked back with a big smile. It was confusing and adorable. He understood why Chan had hired him this fast.

It didn't take too long for Chan and Changbin to arrive as well and they opened up. 

“Thanks for coming on such short notice, Jeongin, we really appreciate it. I guess you've met Jisung already, this is Changbin.” Chan said as he handed Jeongin an apron. 

“No problem, sir.” The boy said and Chan choked on air. Changbin and Jisung giggled quietly. 

“D— It's just Chan, please, we're all friends here. Besides, I'm only a little more than three years older than you.” Chan waved his hands at the younger. He was apparently also younger than Jisung. 

“Okay, Chan.” He said, casually. 

Chan explained to the boy how everything worked while Jisung and Changbin made the shop ready for opening. 

“New guy is cute, huh? I already want to pinch those cheeks.” Changbin whispered. 

“His smile is really pure, yeah. But let's not whisper about him.” Jisung couldn't help but smile a little as he thought about the permanent smile on their new coworker's face. It was infectious. 

Jeongin also meant that he and Changbin would have less of a workload and Jisung thanked the heavens for sending this angel to their coffeeshop. Speaking of angels, Felix came to visit the shop as per usual and Jeongin told Changbin and Jisung that he wanted to help him. 

“He looks nice, I think I can handle him.” Jeongin said and Jisung almost cooed at him. 

“Hi, guys! Hi Channie!” Felix raised his voice to reach Chan in the kitchen. 

“Hi Lixie, Jeongin will be helping you today.” Changbin told him and clapped Jeongin on the shoulder. 

“Hi, welcome! How can I help you today?” He asked brightly and Felix beamed right back. 

“Hi, my name is Felix! You're new? Welcome to the family! I would like the usual— No, you know what? I would like a latte with whipped cream and a chocolate chip cookie.”

“Oh, yummy… I mean— I don't know how to make that, so I'll ask my coworkers nicely! Your name? Right! That's Felix, you already said that. Thanks!” Jeongin kept smiling as he turned to Jisung and Changbin, who were holding back a smile. Felix didn't seem bothered by the clumsiness of the boy, instead, he seemed to enjoy it. 

Jisung elbowed Changbin. “You make it.”

Changbin grumbled and went on to prepare Felix's order. 

“Thank you!” Jeongin turned back to face the store and was a bit startled by Felix still standing there. 

“How much is it?” Felix grinned. 

“That's right! How much  _ is _ it?” Jeongin quickly tapped against the cash register and told Felix how much he owed. Jisung enjoyed watching the exchange. 

He wondered if Felix's cousin and fiancé would come today. Jisung debated asking Felix about them, but maybe that would be weird. He spoke with Felix for a bit, though, the boy was equally endeared by their new coworker and Jisung thought he saw stars in Felix’s eyes when Jeongin came over to bring his order.

“Here you go, Felix!” Jeongin beamed.

“You don’t have to come over, you know? But I appreciate it. Thank you, Jeongin.” Felix accepted the drink and cookie.

“But you’re a regular, right? Don’t they bring you your order as well?” Jeongin pointed at Jisung.

“Yeah, we do. We also talk to him if it’s not too busy.” 

Jeongin looked around the store and decided that the couple by the window meant there were few enough customers to sit down and talk to their regular. He opened his mouth to speak but then turned to Jisung.

“Oh wait, I’m probably not supposed to talk to him since it’s my first day and I don’t know shit yet.” Jeongin immediately stood up. 

“I can help you with some stuff. I’ve watched them a couple of times. And that way Jisung and Changbin can focus on work.” Felix offered and Jisung felt like the boy worked here as well. He was glad Felix offered because even though he thought the younger was nice, Jisung looked forward to a bit of relaxing today. 

A bit after lunchtime Jisung heard some loud customers walk in and Felix, who was still helping Jeongin out with the machines, greeted them excitedly. “Hey, Minnie’s! You came back already!”

“What are you doing behind the counter?” Jisung guessed it was Seungmin who asked this and when he appeared his guess was confirmed. 

“Yeah, I want an iced americano from that Han Jisung guy, is he here— Oh there he is!” Minho waved at him and Jisung felt a bit shy suddenly. Apparently it was a family trait to treat coffeeshop employees as if they were friends when you’ve just met them. 

“Hi.” Minho said to Jisung. “Can I get one of those nice iced americanos you make? Maybe I’ll finally fall in love after enough of those.”

Seungmin let out a big sigh. “I hope so. Can I get some tea and uhm, let’s get some food as well? What do you want?”

“What do you suggest? Is there anything as good as the iced americano?” Minho asked.

“Chan makes a damn good cheesecake, but maybe I’m a bit biased.” Jisung started making their order in advance and Felix and Jeongin watched him. He felt a bit nervous being watched. 

“Why?” 

“You mean why is the cheesecake so good or why am I biased?” Jisung looked up at the boys for a brief second, checking if there weren’t any other customers waiting behind them.

“Yes.” Minho answered helpfully and Jisung couldn’t help but laugh.

“Cheesecake is my favourite, so I like every kind.” He said. “You can’t go wrong with chocolate.”

“Two slices of chocolate cheesecake then.” Seungmin said and Jeongin went to the back to update Chan, while Felix told his cousin and fiancé about their new coworker, as if he worked here.

Jisung brought over their order again. “Here you go, a tea, an iced americano and two slices of chocolate cheesecake for the fiancés, enjoy it!” 

“Thanks, Jisung.” Seungmin said with a polite smile. “By the way, you’re never open on Sundays?”

“Nope, also not on Fridays.” 

“Damn, then what do I do when I crave iced americano on a Sunday?” Minho took a big sip of his drink to emphasize his words.

“You distract yourself by doing something fun with your fiancé.” Jisung grinned and Seungmin let out a laugh. “How’s it going with that, by the way? Did you guys do anything on Sunday? If— If that’s not a weird question to ask!”

Jisung usually didn’t stay and talk to customers and he definitely usually didn’t ask them questions like this. The fiancés laughed at him in a friendly way, luckily.

“Seungmin does work on Sundays, so I can’t do that. We’re still… uhm, more like an already divorced couple than a soon-to-be-married couple I would say.” Minho took a pouty bite of the chocolate cheesecake. “Wow, this is good.”

“I know, right?” Jisung hadn’t had his break yet and he was getting hungry, that cheesecake looked  _ yummy _ . 

“You want a bite?” Minho asked suddenly, holding up the plate. Jisung was a bit taken aback by the sudden offer and he stuttered something about how he could always ask Chan for some and he was just hungry because he didn’t have lunch yet.

“Maybe we shouldn’t keep him from his work any longer, Minho.” Seungmin said as he munched on the cheesecake.

“It’s fine, I was planning on relaxing a bit today, I have had quite the weekend. And it’s almost time for my lunch break.” Jisung looked back and saw Changbin had just returned from his break and Jeongin was helping a customer.

“Why don’t you come sit here for your break and tell us about your weekend? I already know what Seungmin has done, so we really don’t have anything to talk about anymore.” Minho grabbed another chair and patted it just like Felix had done two days ago.  _ They really are cousins. _

“Really? Uhm, aren’t you two here on a date?” Jisung unconsciously took a step to the chair but halted almost immediately. 

“Yeah, kinda, but we’re also here to get acquainted with the people around here. Besides, Minho is right, it’s no fun if we don’t have anything to talk about together, someone else to talk to helps.” Seungmin agreed with his fiancé to Jisungs surprise. 

He stayed still for a while, eyeing the chair and then the two boys at the table. Minho sighed and lightly tugged him down at his wrist. 

“O— Okay— I’ll just get my lunch then.” He stumbled a bit from the light pull at his wrist and turned around quickly to get his lunch. 

A smile tugged at his lips as he grabbed his lunch from his bag at the idea of having lunch with those two, kind of weird, but nice guys. He had to admit he hoped to become friends with them and also with his new coworker.

“So, uhm, I spent the whole Saturday working, well— basically the whole Saturday because I fell asleep immediately after dinner and I woke up at like six the next day and I was super groggy but not really tired so I decided to start planning—” He plopped down on the seat and started rambling, but stopped as soon as he got to the wedding part.  _ Oh shit, do I tell them I'm marrying my boyfriend slash best friend? What if they judge me?  _

Jisung knew that it was kinda unfair for him to know about their arranged marriage while he kept his mouth shut about his own unconventional marriage, but to his own defense, they still had a lot to figure out about the whole marriage thing, so he decided to not share this intimate detail yet. 

“—I decided to start planning some stuff with my, uhm, bestie, but he was quite busy so I had to do a lot on my own— anyway, that's not that exciting but it was kinda tiring.” He checked Minho and Seungmin for their expressions and they just seemed to be casually listening. “After dinner, I got together with Chan and Changbin to work on some music until one in the morning and then we opened up the shop at six this morning.”

“Damn, I get that you were planning to take it easy today. You three have a coffeeshop and make music? Like, as a job?” Minho had rested his head on his hand as he listened. His eyes were alert and Jisung felt glad he wasn’t boring.

“Yeah, we produce music for artists on the side, although we want to do it full time one day.” Jisung was thankful that he didn't have to struggle for money, like Hyunjin, because of the coffee shop, but he hoped he could make a career of music one day, maybe even sing himself. 

“Really? That's cool, do you sing?” Seungmin asked and Jisung got a bit shy at the question. 

“Not really, but I do like it. Maybe I will one day.” 

“If you're in need of a singer one day, ask Seungmin. It was his childhood dream to become a singer or a baseball player. Guess what he does now.” Minho grinned at a sighing Seungmin. 

“I guess none of those two?” Jisung guessed from the slightly sad expression on the other's face. 

“He's a lawyer, got caught in the whole family business drama so he couldn't follow his dreams without getting some real shit from his parents, grandparents, uncles—” 

“He gets it, Minho.” Seungmin snapped a little at the other but grinned a little after. “At least I'll be famous after I marry you.”

Minho scoffed and Jisung narrowed his eyes a bit. He remembered them saying they got married because Minho is 'good publicity', was that because he's famous? Jisung turned to look at the man and he could imagine him being famous with those looks. 

“No, I'm not famous for my looks, Han Jisung.” Minho said, reading his thoughts, and Jisung realized he may have been staring a bit while he was lost in thoughts. He felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “I'm not even really famous, only a tiny bit where we used to live. But not that much. I still think your parents just wanted you to marry before you get too old.”

“My parents aren't  _ you _ Minho, I don't think they have a certain age in mind above which you can't marry anymore.” Seungmin rolled his eyes. 

“Wait, you  _ do  _ think there's an age above which you're too old to marry?” Jisung asked Minho. “How old are you?” 

“I'm twenty-five years old and Seungmin is twenty-three.”  _ That's young. This Seungmin guy is my age!  _ “And yeah, a bit. I mean don't we all wanna marry before thirty?” 

Minho chuckled a bit evasively and Jisung didn't know what to say to that, he kinda got the feeling, he guessed, but he also still had a long way until thirty and he was mostly focused on making music rather than wondering who was ‘The One’ for him. 

He didn’t want to think too long about if Hyunjin was ‘The One’ for him. He had other things to worry about right now.

“I don't think my parents are worried about that right now, though. I don't even know why they exactly want me to marry you and I honestly don't really care. As long as they're off my back I'm fine.” 

Jisung felt bad for the two, they were so young and already forced to marry. 

“That sounds like it kinda sucks.” He said as he took a bite of his lunch. Seungmin just shrugged. 

“It does suck, but he pretends like he doesn't care about anything.” Minho nodded to his fiancé and then turned to face him. “And that is exactly why you're not a singer or baseball star right now.”

“Shut up, it was my own choice.” Seungmin seemed to be getting slightly annoyed, but Minho's face didn't show much emotion. It never did if he wasn't smiling, Jisung had noticed. Not that he had been looking. 

“Yeah, sure, your own choice to do what your parents want instead of what  _ you  _ want.” Seungmin snapped his head to the side at these words and Jisung's heart began pounding in anxiety.  _ Oh no, are they going to fight? Do I say something?  _

“ _ You _ don't get to talk to me about giving up on things when you agreed to marry me because of your stupid reasons.” Seungmin snapped but kept his voice low. Minho's expression twitched to something like— anger? hurt? betrayed? 

“My stupid reasons? Do you think it’s stupid that I tried to help you get your parents off your back?” Minho was also whispering, but his voice swayed, betraying some emotion behind his composed (?) expression. Jisung wasn't really looking at them as he shrank in his chair, desperately wanting them to stop this, but too afraid to say something. 

“I thought you wanted me to go against my parents.” 

Jisung took his lunch in his hands and started fake casually looking outside, trying to focus on anything but the fight at the table. 

“You  _ know _ —” 

“Let's not do this now— here.” Seungmin said and Jisung heard a chair scrape against the floor. He turned his head back and saw that Seungmin was standing. “I'm going to use the restroom.”

“It's in the corner over there.” Jisung said out of habit and the boy mumbled a thank you as well as an apology before making his way over to the restroom. 

Minho let out a sigh and took a sip of his drink before locking eyes with Jisung, an apologetic look on his face. 

“Sorry about that. That must've been awkward for you to watch.” He scratched his head. 

“Uhm, yeah a bit. But are you two okay?” Jisung asked and Minho suddenly smiled a dazzling smile, one that caught Jisung off guard. It seemed like this Lee Minho did that a lot. 

“Yes. This happens sometimes, but that's part of how we know we care about each other.” 

Jisung would've thought that was romantic of the boy to say if it wasn't for the fact that Minho was looking  _ him _ straight in the eyes with that bright smile. Jisung could only blink. 

At his fourth blink, Minho was caught in a laughing fit. 

“Wh— Why are you laughing?” Jisung tried to find anything funny about the situation, but he didn't get it. He didn’t feel awkward though, just confused.

“Just— You were obviously uncomfortable just now, but the first thing you ask is if  _ we  _ are okay. That's cute.” Minho kept on saying things like that. Things Jisung didn't know what to say to. 

_ It’s probably because I don’t know him that well yet.  _ Why did it feel like he did, though? Was it the way Minho treated him like they knew each other? Jisung couldn’t quite place the feeling.

“Thanks?” Jisung felt laughter bubble up in his chest. The whole situation was kind of funny, now that the anxiety of a while ago had faded. He didn't really understand why it was funny, maybe Minho's laugh was just infectious. 

“You're welcome.” Minho said and they both burst out in laughter for unknown reasons. 

When Seungmin returned from the restroom he seemed calm, he even smiled as he saw them giggling. He sat down again silently.

“Minnie, you know what the first thing he asked was after you left?” Minho spoke to Seungmin as if they didn’t fight a couple of minutes ago.

“Something about my parents?” Seungmin guessed, placing a finger on his chin in thought.

“No, he asked if we were okay.” 

“Oh, that’s sweet.” Seungmin laughed a bit. “Sorry about that, by the way. We’re okay, things like these happen. Means we care.”

Jisung nodded with a small smile,  _ they said the same thing _ . Maybe they could one day fall in love with each other. “You guys are pretty similar.”

“We’re not!” They both immediately protested.

“I am nothing like this disciplined child!” Minho gestured wildly at the other.

“And I am nothing like this inscrutable cat lover.” Seungmin rolled his eyes and Jisung just laughed.

“A cat lover, huh? Looks like a cat, loves cats.” Jisung didn’t mean to say that out loud, but he didn’t mind it anymore as Minho beamed at him.

“Hell yes, I love cats! Wait, let me show you them, I have three. Their names are Soonie, Doongie and Dori.” Minho grabbed his phone and excitedly showed Jisung his three cats as he explained their appearance and personality in great detail.

“You shouldn’t have brought up his cats, Jisung. You’ve made a great mistake, he will  _ not _ shut up for about two hours now.” Seungmin sat back in his chair.

“I think you brought it up first.” Jisung grinned. “And I don’t mind. They’re cute.” 

“I  _ know _ right?!” Minho almost yelled and then looked up at Seungmin, pointing a thumb back at Jisung. “At least he gets me.”

He didn’t say Minho was also pretty cute as he kept on rambling about those three creatures on his phone screen. It suddenly popped up in Jisung’s head that he didn’t know what Minho did for a living yet and he also didn’t know what he was ‘famous’ for.

“Oh, by the way, Minho, what do you do for—” Jisung was cut off by a long and whiny sigh.

“Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnggggggggggg!” Changbin whined. “Your break is over! Come! Help!”

Everyone in the store was looking at the small boy but he didn’t seem to care at all. Jisung laughed. 

“I’m coming, Baby Binnie!” He sing-songed before turning to the two who he had lunch with just now. “Sorry, duty calls.”

“It’s okay, we’ll see you soon.” Seungmin said as he also gathered his stuff.

“Good luck with work, Han Jisung.” Minho said and Jisung needed to ask him why he always called him by his full name once. He also still wanted to know what Minho did for a living. He also wanted to tell them about Hyunjin one day, Jisung thought Hyunjin would like them as well.

There was a lot he still wanted to talk about with those two, but for now, he had to get to work again. Unfortunately.

“Is he always like this?” Jeongin asked as soon as Jisung joined them again, pointing at Changbin.

“Yeah, he is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whooop! first jeonglix meeting! 2min and jisung are getting closer as well


	5. Someone else caught your eye, didn't they?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You wanna kiss or gossip? Please pick only one of the options above.” Jisung said in his customer-service-voice.
> 
> “Can’t I do both?” Hyunjin tried to throw his puppy eyes into the game, brushing their noses together. It worked because Jisung’s cheeks coloured a slight pink.
> 
> “If you tell me how you wanna do that, sure.” 
> 
> Hyunjin frowned slightly, thinking of how a conversation could work while they were kissing, but he drew a blank. Maybe it couldn’t work after all…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's two weeks later and hyunjin finally decides to visit the coffee shop. seungmin has theories...

“Hmmm.” Hyunjin hummed in interest as he listened to his boyfriend— fiancé— talk about his day. He had been speaking about the same three customers almost exclusively the past two weeks and it seemed like they got along well.

“You and that Minho guy get along well, huh?” Hyunjin tilted his head in his hands, looking up at Jisung, and wiggled his legs a bit from where he was lying on his stomach on Jisung’s couch. They had discussed things with Jisung’s landlord and she allowed them to live together while engaged and not married for a while, something like a month or so. A month after the two weeks Hyunjin still had to officially move out, that was.

It meant they had more time to plan their wedding. Hyunjin felt a little guilty he was this busy after their engagement, but he had heard a great choreographer had moved to their city and he wanted to be at his best to impress the guy.

He had heard the man was still working in his previous city mostly, but that he would soon start with dancers here. Hyunjin didn’t know if it was all just a rumour, but he wanted to be prepared just in case. Jisung was understanding and supportive, luckily. Hyunjin had the best boyfriend— fiancé. 

“Yeah, I guess. He’s a bit strange, but not in a bad way, not at all. I think it’s nice that he’s not afraid of being himself. Reminds me of you.” Jisung giggled and ruffled Hyunjin’s hair.

“I’m glad... You still don’t know what he does? That Seungmin guy is a lawyer, right?” Hyunjin turned around and laid his head on Jisung’s lap, looking up at his cute face.

“Yeah, Seungmin is a lawyer. And nope.” Jisung barked out a laugh. “I told you that when it first came up that they married for good publicity I blurted out that it was because of his looks, right?”

“Yeah, you did.” Hyunjin grinned at the recollection. “I thought you’d learn from me not to blurt out such things.”

“No, but you don’t understand, he is  _ you _ level handsome! Well, not  _ that _ handsome, but like, close you know? A— Anyway, he seems to enjoy being called handsome, because the few times after that, when I tried to ask him what he did or why he was sort of famous, he was all like  _ ‘It’s not because of my good looks, Han Jisung’ _ .” Jisung rolled his eyes. “It seems like he is kind of a bit avoiding the subject? Don’t you think?”

“Could be. Maybe he doesn’t care about fame? Or is he afraid people will treat him differently? I don’t know…” Hyunjin could relate to the feeling of not wanting to be valued by something like fame. He sometimes wished he could choose to hide his face from people and be judged on his personality or his hard work instead.

“Could be. I feel like I know him well enough to be past that, though? And it’s not like he’s very famous here. Maybe only in his field.” Jisung pouted in thought. “Well, he’s usually not that serious and I don’t ask about it too often, but still. I’ll ask him soon because I’m still curious. Let’s talk about your day.”

“Nah, I just danced today, it wasn’t that eventful. I enjoyed the cheesecake you packed for me, though!” Hyunjin curled his fingers around the front of Jisung’s way too big shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. “I should come to your coffee shop and meet your new friends one day.” 

“Yeah, you should.” Jisung smiled against Hyunjin’s lips. Hyunjin felt his stomach flip and tugged at Jisung’s shirt again to kiss him some more. 

“This is not the most comfortable position for me, honey buns.” Jisung pulled away. “Maybe breaking my neck is your thing, but I’d rather not.”

Hyunjin apologized with a smile and repositioned himself to straddle the smaller boy’s legs. He cupped the boy’s face and let his eyes wander the familiar hills and valleys of his face.

“How’s it going with the whole falling in love deal of those two, by the way?” He asked.

“You wanna kiss or gossip? Please pick only one of the options above.” Jisung said in his customer-service-voice.

“Can’t I do both?” Hyunjin tried to throw his puppy eyes into the game, brushing their noses together. It worked because Jisung’s cheeks coloured a slight pink.

“If you tell me how you wanna do that, sure.” 

Hyunjin frowned slightly, thinking of how a conversation could work while they were kissing, but he drew a blank. Maybe it couldn’t work after all…

“Okay, never mind, answer my question first. Then we’ll kiss.” 

“I honestly don’t think it’s going to work… Like this at least.” Jisung began. “I mean, they’re  _ ‘trying’ _ these coffeeshop dates and then they’ll ask me or Jeongin or Changbin or even Chan to  _ ‘help’ _ them and then we’ll just talk to them. They even got Chan out of the kitchen twice! Like, yeah, I fell for you without going on dates as well, but… I don’t know. At first, I believed there was a chance, but now I don’t really see it happening.”

“Maybe I can help them.” Hyunjin joked, he didn’t think he could help, but he wanted to come to the coffee shop with Jisung anyway. He knew Jisung had told the two boys about him being his boyfriend, but not about the whole fiancé thing and Hyunjin didn’t blame him. It wasn’t like they were going to get married out of love…  _ yet? _

“Maybe you can. If that’s what it takes to get you to come visit me at work!” Jisung fake scolded him.

“Hey, you don’t visit me that often either.” Hyunjin countered. “But I’ll come with you tomorrow! Maybe we can show them how it’s done. I’ve decided to let my muscles rest for a bit.”

“Really? Ah, I guess we can’t kiss too hard then, bummer.” Jisung looked away dramatically as if he was mourning his late husband.

“Tomorrow, not today.” Hyunjin said quickly, scooting a bit closer on the boy’s lap. He bit his lip and tried to catch the other’s gaze, smiling when he did. 

He closed the gap between them and let himself melt against Jisung.  _ Nothing better than kissing my beautiful boy after an exhausting day. _ Soon Jisung tangled his fingers in Hyunjin’s long black locks and pulled him closer. 

They got lost in each other for a while and decided that it couldn’t hurt for Hyunjin to stay over for tonight.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Yo.” 

Minho felt a foot poke his side. He didn’t feel like opening his eyes too much though. He heard a sigh and felt more poking.

“Just say it. I can listen while having my eyes closed.” Minho grumbled, not moving from where he was relaxing on his bed.

“I take it you wanna go to the café during my lunch break again? Or you wanna come before work?” Seungmin asked a question to which the answer should be obvious by now.

“Yes, of course. During lunch. Why are you asking? You too busy for me? Your fiancé?” Minho put his hands behind his head but kept his eyes shut. Today was his day off, he wanted to relax until they’d go to the café again.

“No.” He felt a light push. “Just— Are we still trying to fall in love with each other?”

Minho stayed silent and cracked his eyes open, Seungmin was sitting on the edge of the bed next to him, fully suited up. Minho only saw the back of his head right now.

Then Seungmin turned to look at him. “I don’t feel like you’re trying anymore.”

“You want me to try harder?” He asked, but not because he thought Seungmin wanted him to try harder, just because. 

“If I say yes, will you really try harder?” That wasn't the answer Minho wanted to hear. 

“I have a feeling you're not going to say yes, though.” He said and Seungmin gave him an unamused look. 

“Sometimes you are exhausting you know that?” Seungmin sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know what I'm trying to say.”

“You're exhausting too, why don't you tell me straight up what you want to say?” Minho had an idea of what his friend was trying to say— or rather, what he was trying to get Minho to say, but Minho didn't feel like cooperating if Seungmin wasn't upfront with him. 

“Someone else caught your eye, didn't they?” 

Minho felt his breath get caught in his throat. He frowned slightly.  _ What is he talking about?  _

“I don't know what you're talking about.” It was true, Minho hadn't expected this. 

He thought Seungmin had caught on that Minho would rather just try to make the most of a platonic marriage than trying to fall in love, so that they wouldn't have to force things anymore, not  _ this _ . Whatever this even was.

He was curious about who Seungmin thought had 'caught Minho's eye', although he kind of had an idea already, deep down. 

“Han Jisung.” 

There it was. 

“What about him.”

Seungmin stayed quiet, giving Minho a blank look, one which meant he wasn’t entertaining him anymore.

“Yes, I like him. He's a great guy, good friend. We fit well. That's it.” That was it. Nothing more, Minho honestly thought Seungmin could distinguish platonic feelings from romantic interest by now. 

“If you say so.” Seungmin shrugged and Minho sat up, shooting his fiancé a grin. 

“Aww! Minnie, are you  _ jealous?  _ Don't worry! You're my only one~ Don't worry about Jisung falling for me either, he has a boyfriend.” Minho pinched Seungmin's cheek fat. “Now go to work,  _ honey _ , and don't miss me too much, we'll see each other soon.”

“Don't worry, I won't.” The younger stood up and gave him a fake sweet smile. “See you soon,  _ sugar tootie _ .”

Minho cackled at the god awful nickname and slapped his friend on his nonexistent ass goodbye. 

* * *

Minho had decided to go to the shop a little early because he was bored. As he casually strolled along the street leading to his favourite rest spot he found himself replaying the conversation he had with his fiancé in his head.

_ Han Jisung has caught my eye? Pfft, where did he get that from? Is it because Han Jisung obviously likes me? _ Minho thought they got along well. If they had met earlier, Minho thought they would’ve been pretty great friends by now, but that was it, right?

_ Besides, I’m married and the guy has a boyfriend. They’ve only been dating for a month, so it’s not that long, but still.  _ He had to admit he was curious about The Boyfriend, what kind of guy would Jisung be dating? 

Jisung had told them that his boyfriend was his best friend and that he was a dancer. Minho didn’t tell him he is a choreographer, because he was afraid that Jisung might start asking him for favours for his boyfriend. The dance industry was harsh and Minho didn’t want to play favourites. He also thought it was funny to tease the boy a bit. 

As he approached the shop he saw it was pretty busy inside, Jisung, Changbin and Jeongin were hastily walking around and of course Felix was there too, cleaning the counters as if he worked there. 

Minho’s eye then fell on a black-haired boy who was lounging on a chair, with nothing on his table. The boy had his eyes focused on Jisung and he was  _ handsome. _ As soon as Jisung finished cleaning up a table he walked over to the black-haired boy, who gave him a sweet smile and laughed so loudly when Jisung said something Minho heard it from outside.

_ Boyfriend? Jisung never said he was handsome. _ Minho walked in and was greeted by familiar smiles. 

“Minho!” Jisung came over to give him a one-armed hug, as his other arm carried a wet dishcloth. It was a warm hug nonetheless. He then excitedly brought him over to the table the black-haired boy was sitting at. “Hyunjin, this is Minho. Minho, Hyunjin, my boyfriend slash best friend.”

“Ah, so this is Mysterious Minho? I mean— Uhm. Hi, I’m Hyunjin.” Hyunjin stood up but almost tripped over his chair and Minho couldn’t help but giggle.  _ Of course Jisung would fall for a clumsy guy. _

Hyunjin held out his hand and Minho noticed he was pretty tall compared to both Jisung and him. Minho took his big hand in his own small hand and shook it.

“Mysterious Minho?” 

“Oh, uhm, yeah, because we don’t know what you do for a living, so that’s what I called you in my head.” Hyunjin scratched his head and turned to Jisung to whisper: “You said he’s me level handsome, but I don’t think I’m  _ that _ handsome!”

Minho laughed outright, giving away that he had heard the whisper. “I don’t think  _ I’m  _ that handsome. Jisung never mentioned having such a beautiful boyfriend. Nice to meet you.”

“He doesn’t like being judged by his looks too much.” Jisung shrugged.

“But you judge  _ me _ by looks?” Minho raised his eyebrows in a teasing manner.

“N— No! Of course not.” Jisung stuttered and Hyunjin clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“He really didn’t, from how it sounded you guys get along well. He has been coming home from work happier since you guys became regulars and Jeongin began to work here.” The black-haired boy smiled such a sweet smile that Minho felt his teeth ache.

_ That Hyunjin guy is really a nice guy,  _ Minho thought and somehow he felt his stomach churn a bit, a slightly uncomfortable feeling settling in his abdomen.  _ I must be hungry. _

“Hi, Minho. Where’s Seungmin?” Jeongin and Felix came over with a bright smile. 

“He’ll be here in a bit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tomorrow a continuation of these events! 
> 
> have a nice daaaayyy


	6. When had his cheeks gotten so warm?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Jeongin?! Are you okay?! Are you dying? Why did you come to work, then?! We’re not insured if you die here!” Jisung was pretty sure they weren’t insured for anything besides fire damage. “If you see an angel, don’t go to them! Stay here!”
> 
> “Uhm… excuse me?” A customer looked over the counter. “Do I need to call an ambulance? Or can I order my coffee?”
> 
> “Changbin! Customer!!” Jisung yelled before turning his attention back to the boy on the floor. “Look, Jeongin, whatever you do, do not follow the light, okay? Can you do that for me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the continuation of the previous events in the café, where hyunjin and minho finally meet!
> 
> featuring dramatic!jeongin, struggling minho and jisung being worried about them both

While his boyfriend talked to the Lee cousins and Seungmin, Jisung worked until his break. He was glad to see Hyunjin got along with his friends, although he had kinda messed up his introduction a bit. 

_‘Hi, I’m Hyunjin.’_ He had said to Seungmin before turning to Jisung to whisper yet again something embarrassing. _‘Is he related to Jeongin? He is just as cute. He looks like a puppy!’_

Seungmin had heard him, of course, and Jisung had tried to save his boyfriend by explaining the boy thinks a lot of people are cute and that he’s weak for cute things and people, but Seungmin was just laughing. He didn’t seem to need any explanations.

Jisung wondered what they were talking about now, but he had to focus on his work for a little longer. _Just a little more until the break._

He then noticed that Jeongin was leaning on the counters, head propped up on his hands, elbows on the hard surface and a slight pout on his face. Jisung copied his position next to him and tried to see where the boy was looking.

His gaze seemed to be focused on the same table that Jisung looked at every once in a while. “‘Sup?”

Jeongin just let out a long sigh and then became silent again. Jisung didn’t get it. “You wanna talk to th—”

His question was cut off by a groan from the younger, who let his head fall flat on the counter before he let himself slide off and fall on his back.

“Oh gosh. Are you okay?” Jisung kneeled beside the boy who was lying on his back, looking at the ceiling.

“No…” He whined. “Did you hear that?!”

“Hear what?” Jisung asked, eyes wide in concern and confusion.

Jeongin slowly raised a hand to the ceiling and Jisung followed it with his eyes. 

“What is it? What’s at the ceiling? Are you okay?” He looked between Jeongin’s raised hand and his face.

“That sound…! The laughter of an angel…!” Jeongin plucked at the air before letting his arm fall on his chest. _Angel?! Is he dying? What do I do?!_

“Jeongin?! Are you okay?! Are you dying? Why did you come to work, then?! We’re not insured if you die here!” Jisung was pretty sure they weren’t insured for anything besides fire damage. “If you see an angel, don’t go to them! Stay here!”

“Uhm… excuse me?” A customer looked over the counter. “Do I need to call an ambulance? Or can I order my coffee?”

“Changbin! Customer!!” Jisung yelled before turning his attention back to the boy on the floor. “Look, Jeongin, whatever you do, do _not_ follow the light, okay? Can you do that for me?”

Jeongin laughed suddenly, his body shocking against the floor. _Shit, is he going crazy now? Is his adorable laugh the last thing I’ll ever see of him?_

“You are so stupid, Jisung!” The boy laughed at him as he sat up and styled his hair with his ring and middle fingers. “Well, you did make me laugh and forget about stuff for a bit.”

He stood up and dusted his apron and apologized to the customer from earlier. Jisung slowly stood up as well, still confused as heck.

“Forget about what? _What_ just happened?” Jisung dusted off his knees and straightened himself after, to look at Jeongin, but Jeongin wasn’t looking at him. Instead, the black-haired boy was looking in the distance.

“Just—” The younger sighed. “I think an angel has come to visit us on earth… Has descended upon this coffeeshop from a city far away and graced us with his presence and help even though he doesn’t work here… And all I can do is watch and embarrass myself in front of him…”

_Wait_ — _Is he talking about…?_

“You mean Feli—” Jisung was soon shushed by a single long finger on his lips.

“Shhh— He’ll hear you!”

Jisung moved his eyes between Jeongin’s and where his gaze led to the freckled individual and couldn’t help but wheeze in laughter. “Innie has a crush! How cute.” He whispered through his wheezing.

“What are you guys talking about?” Chan had come from the kitchen and Changbin joined them as well.

“Innie has a little crush on your friend, Channie. He was being all dramatic, like, _‘an angel has descended’_ —” Jisung laughed and Jeongin hit him lightly.

“Ya! Go take your break now!”

“Innie has a crush? Our Innie Innie Innie?” Chan cooed as Jisung took off his apron and grabbed his lunch to walked over to the table where their regulars were sitting. He could hear Jeongin groan and Chan: “On my lil’ bro? Felix?”

“Hey boo.” Hyunjin pulled a chair back for him as soon as he arrived. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing, Jeongin is just cute.” He shrugged as Hyunjin wrapped an arm around him. “How’s it going here?”

“I figured out what Minho does!” Hyunjin smiled proudly. “He is a choreographer!”

“What?! Really? Wait, why didn’t you tell me that!” Jisung leaned forward in surprise, gaze directed towards Minho. _A famous choreographer?! And I even told him about my dancer boyfriend!_

“Why is it important?” Minho tilted his head in feigned ignorance and Jisung felt his throat become dry for some reason. 

“I told you about Hyunjin being a dancer! If I had known—” 

“It’s okay, Jisung, he wasn’t even working here until very recently.” Hyunjin rubbed his hand along Jisung’s shoulder, but Jisung felt a bit frustrated for some reason. 

_Why didn’t he tell me that? I thought I knew him well… You’d think he’d share it if I tell him my boyfriend is a dancer! Doesn’t he want to talk about dance with me?_

Hyunjin kept rubbing soothing circles along his upper arm and every once in a while he stroked the back of his head. They were now talking about random things, like things that happened on Felix’s commute here or stories about weird clients Seungmin had had, and Jisung felt himself calm a little as he noticed Hyunjin got along well with the three, laughing at almost anything they said.

He took the hand that was slung over his shoulder and started mindlessly turning the rings on their fingers while he listened to the others talk and he gave his own input every once in a while as well. As Jisung was laughing at something Felix had said, he suddenly felt like he was being watched.

He turned to see Minho’s gaze burning on him— no, just beside him? He looked over his shoulder to check what the boy was looking at but he just saw a wall. When he turned back, Minho’s eyes were definitely on _him_. 

“Is there something on my face?” He chuckled awkwardly and raised his left and unoccupied hand to his face. He didn’t know if he was interrupting a story and Minho also didn’t seem to have heard him.

The rest studied his face and Jisung felt his cheeks heat up because of all the eyes on him.

“Nope, don’t see anything— Wait? No— That’s just your mole.” Felix shook his head and Jisung still didn’t know why Minho was silently staring at him with a pretty intense gaze. One that made him feel like he had said something wrong, nothing like the usual relaxed expression the older had.

“I don’t see anything either…” Seungmin muttered as he leaned back in his seat, but he almost immediately shot forward again. “Wait— You guys have matching rings! On your— uhm, on your ring fingers…?”

_Oh heck._

Jisung looked at his boyfriend— fiancé— and saw him looking back at him with the same panicked expression. They were both bad at handling these kinds of situations, but Hyunjin was worse, Jisung guessed, so he would probably have to come up with something.

Or they had to decide to tell them the truth.

“Huh? Are you guys engaged?! Since when? You didn’t tell me!” Felix’s eyes were wide in shock but he also smiled. Seungmin was frowning and Minho avoided all eyes, his face suddenly very pale and he honestly looked like he was going to pass out— _Wait is he okay?!_

“Minho! Are you okay? You suddenly look like a ghost!” Jisung stood up from his chair and leaned over the table to take a better look at the boy.

“Jesus Minho, what’s going on?” Felix took him by the arm and tried to catch his cousin’s gaze. “Minho?”

“I— I’m fine…” Minho swallowed, and slightly composed himself, but he still didn’t look fine. _Why is everyone dying suddenly? First Jeongin and now…_

This seemed like it was more serious than Jeongin, though. Jisung _had_ to do something. He looked around, a slight panic rising in his chest. _Stay calm, think._

“Come here, I’ll take you to the staff bathroom, let’s get you some water.” He hooked his arm under Minho’s and lifted him up. Felix got up with him, but Seungmin motioned him to sit.

“I think he got it.” 

Jisung didn’t know if he got it, though. He just thought water and a quiet place would help. It did whenever Jisung had an anxiety attack. He didn’t think this was an anxiety attack though because if it was, going outside for fresh air might be better.

“Here take a glass of water. Uhm, we can sit down on the floor if you want, it’s pretty clean.” Jisung lead Minho down with him to sit and watched the other drink the water.

“You okay? What happened there?” Jisung unconsciously took the other’s hand in his own.

“Why are you taking my hand.” Minho said rather than asked, but he didn’t shake him off.

“Comfort?” He took a guess, seeing he didn’t know himself. It became quiet for a while, Minho was looking at the floor while Jisung was looking at Minho, checking if he was okay and waiting for him to say something.

“I suddenly got a little light-headed, that’s all.” He finally muttered.

“Does that happen more often?” Jisung asked so he could be a little more prepared next time. Minho shook his head. “Do you know why it happened?”

“No.” The older chuckled— scoffed?— and looked at him with a bit of a bitter expression. “Why are you so concerned?”

“Huh? Because you’re my friend of course!” Jisung squeezed Minho’s hand and he wondered if he had done something wrong for Minho to react like this. Jisung thought they got along well. “I don’t want this to happen again. If I can prevent it— or if I can take certain things into account so that you—”

“It’s okay, Jisung.” Minho pressed his lips together in a bit of a forced smile. _Is it?_

It grew silent again, it wasn't an awkward or heavy silence, but Jisung felt like there was something that needed to be said. 

“Are you really engaged to him?” Minho broke the silence with a question Jisung was expecting he’d ask sooner or later.

Jisung pondered for a while what he should answer, but eventually, he settled on just telling him the truth.

“Yes, I am.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me? I mean, it’s a pretty big deal to get married after only a month of dating. Didn’t think you were the type to do that.” Another slightly snappy remark coming from the older.

Jisung couldn’t read the other’s expression. _Is he disappointed in me?_ If he was, then he had no right to.

“Look, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. And— It’s not like you didn’t tell me that you’re a choreographer!” 

Minho let go of Jisung’s hand and huffed. “That’s different. You knew about me and Seungmin having an arranged marriage, how big is the step to tell us about your own _normal_ marriage?”

“It isn’t a normal marriage.” Jisung felt bad that he didn’t tell Minho, but he also was annoyed that Minho somehow felt like he was entitled to the information when he kept his profession a secret. “We were still figuring things out and I wasn’t ready to tell you. I’m sorry, okay? I feel like what you do for a living is less of a big deal than being engaged to your boyfriend of a month, though.”

Minho let out a deep sigh. “Okay. I’m sorry as well. It’s not that different I guess… I don’t know why I felt like you should’ve told me.”

“Well— Maybe it’s just me, but— I kinda get it. Even though we’ve only met two weeks ago, I feel like I’ve known you for way longer. Maybe that’s why I got upset that you didn’t tell me that you’re doing dance…” Jisung tried to catch Minho’s gaze to gauge his reaction, and when he did, he thought the other seemed to relate to his words. Minho didn’t explicitly say so, though.

“I’m feeling okay now, by the way.” He said instead as he stood up, holding out his hand. “Thank you. Let’s go back.”

Jisung took the hand and let himself get helped up. They walked back to the rest and Jisung suddenly remembered Minho was staring at him earlier at the table. He turned his head to the side to look at the other. _Should I ask him why he did that?_

Minho seemed to feel him looking because he turned to look at him with a curious expression. The dark brown eyes felt like they pierced right through Jisung, exposing his every thought. He felt a blush creep up his neck.

_Why am I suddenly getting nervous?_

“Are you going to tell me about your not-normal engagement, Han Jisung?” Minho asked and it reminded Jisung of more questions he had to ask Minho when he’d get the chance. 

“Yeah, when we’re back with the rest. Of course I am going to tell you now, I don’t want you to create weird theories in your head.” He teased with a smile which he hoped wouldn’t show that his heart was pounding in his throat. 

* * *

“Does this happen more often?” Hyunjin asked as he watched the two walk away to the staff bathroom.

“No… Not that I know…” Felix muttered.

“Not that I know either, but he’ll be fine, I’m sure.” Seungmin said. He was sure that it was just the shock of finding out that Jisung and Hyunjin are engaged.

Seungmin had seen his fiancé become pretty close with the coffee shop employee in a short amount of time and he suspected Minho may be close to falling for the guy as well, so he could imagine it came as a shock that Jisung was engaged to his boyfriend of merely a month.

That combined with the stress of beginning to work in a different city… Seungmin just hoped he was right about that he’ll be fine. 

He wondered what the story was behind their engagement. _Proposing to someone when you’ve only been dating for a month is quite the thing. Didn’t Jisung say_ we _were still pretty young to be engaged?_

They had said they were best friends and Seungmin could see that Hyunjin is very good looking, but he still felt like there was something off. Why lie about being engaged? 

“So, Hyunjin… Are you two happily engaged?” Seungmin tried asking to distract them from what happened until Minho and Jisung would return. 

“Uhm. It's kind of complicated. I mean— of course I'm happy with Jisung, but our engagement is not for the most conventional of reasons. A bit like yours, actually.” Hyunjin explained and what he said made sense. He looked at Seungmin apologetically. “Is it okay if I wait with the full story until Jisung's back?” 

“Yes, of course! I was just wondering, but I understand.” He gave Hyunjin a smile. The boy was pretty sweet, Jisung was lucky. 

After that, it was quiet again for the most part. Changbin came over to ask if everything was okay with Minho and they told him what happened before he went back to work. 

“They're gone pretty long? Or is it just me?” Felix was fidgeting with his hands a bit and before anyone could say anything else, they spotted the duo making their way back to the table again. 

Minho had regained the colour in his face and he was saying something to Jisung to which the other grinned. _Seems like he's okay._

Felix stood up to hug his cousin and he asked him how he was doing. Minho responded with his usual evasiveness and Jisung complained that he didn't get a thank you. _They're okay._

“I thanked you already. Don't whine about it.” 

Seungmin had to stop himself from laughing at how Hyunjin's expression went from confused and slightly offended to just confused to understanding as he saw Minho's harmless expression. _It takes a while to understand the man, I know, Hyunjin._

“Anyway, 'Jin, uhm, shall we tell them?” Jisung looked up at his boyfriend— fiancé— for permission to tell the rest the story they were all curious about. Hyunjin nodded. 

It was sweet, Jisung proposed to help Hyunjin out, so they could live together. Hyunjin had accepted even though they had only been together for two weeks at the time, and hadn't even seen each other that much during those weeks. 

It wasn't an engagement out of love, much like Seungmin and Minho's engagement, but unlike them, Jisung had proposed to Hyunjin out of free will _and_ they were actually boyfriends before the proposal. 

Seungmin couldn't help but think about Minho's existent or non-existent feelings for Jisung, he hoped Minho was right about it just being platonic feelings, but his reaction from earlier wasn't particularly promising. 

But then again, both Minho and Jisung were engaged and not to each other. Maybe nothing would happen, maybe nothing would grow between them. He at least hoped for no unnecessary drama, Hyunjin was nice. It would be sad to never see him again.

He shook his head. _What am I even thinking?_

* * *

“It was pretty fun to finally meet your regulars.” Hyunjin hummed as he and Jisung went into Jisung’s— their?— apartment. 

“You like them?” Jisung looked at his fiancé hopefully. It would mean a lot of Hyunjin liked his friends as well. 

He plopped down on the couch to scroll through his phone, looking for something to order for dinner. Hyunjin leaned on the backrest of the couch, pointing to something he thought looked appetizing.

“Yeah, of course! Minho and Seungmin are really nice, it’s comfortable to speak with them as well.” He said. “They also took us being engaged pretty well, right? Well, I guess it’s because they can relate a bit. Your new coworker is very cute as well.”

Jisung smiled. Despite being pretty exhausted from work, he had fun with Hyunjin there all day. Hyunjin seemed to like everyone as much as he did and he was already calling Jeongin and Seungmin cute, albeit not directly to their faces (at least he tried not to say it directly to them).

“Are you coming with me one day?” Hyunjin asked as they were eating their dinner. He looked at Jisung with pleading eyes and Jisung couldn’t help but mix a laugh with his sigh.

“You say it as if I’ve never come with you before.” He teased. “I’ll come only if you won’t force me to dance!”

“Why not?! You’re pretty good! It’s no fun if you don’t dance as well.”

“Okay, but this Friday I need to work on songs with Chan and Changbin, maybe Sunday?” He proposed and Hyunjin nodded.

They spoke about trivial stuff after but Jisung wasn’t really paying attention. His mind was drifting, his thoughts continuously landing on one particular subject. 

_I wonder how Minho is doing. He seemed fine after our talk, but I have no way of checking. Why don’t I have his number yet?_

_I should ask for his number next time, so we can maybe do something together sometime, like go on a double date!_

When would he have time for something like that, though? If he wasn’t working in either the café or on songs, he had a wedding to plan. Because surely his landlord wouldn’t allow them to stay living together if they just stayed engaged for eternity.

It was also risky to trust Hyunjin to find something for himself which he would be able to afford in the coming six weeks or so. _Although… what if Minho is just the push Hyunjin needs?_

And again his thoughts had led him to Lee Minho, the man he was itching to get to know better. Because after today he had especially realized that there was so much more to know. He couldn’t expect to know everything about someone he only saw for an hour at max for five days a week. 

A sudden overwhelming feeling washed over Jisung, a feeling he couldn’t quite place his finger on. It was a kind of feeling like he was missing out on something. _Do I miss him...? Am I missing Minho...?_

“You okay, Ji?” Hyunjin tilted his head in question, pulling Jisung out of his mind. 

“Yeah, uhm— I was just thinking about that— Maybe Minho will open up new opportunities for you.” Jisung wasn’t lying, but he felt a little busted for some reason. When had his cheeks gotten so warm?

“I know right?!” Hyunjin smiled and ruffled Jisung’s hair and Jisung stole a kiss out of habit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are starting to change....


	7. Something to celebrate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jisung looked at him with eyes that sparkled with something like hope and Minho took the phone into his hands, changing the contact name to ‘my favourite iced americano drinker’ and typing in his number.
> 
> Jisung took his phone back and laughed a few breathy laughs at the contact name. He then held out his hand and Minho didn’t know what that meant. Does he want me to take his hand?
> 
> “Give me your phone, I’ll set my number in it.” Ah, of course.
> 
> “Nah, just text me something and I’ll save you myself.” He turned around to signal that they should go into studio. “Should I save you as ‘iced americano maker’ or ‘squirrel guy’?”
> 
> “Hey, at least save me as ‘my favourite squirrel guy’ then!” Jisung pushed at Minho's back as they went into the studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho starts anew in a new city and scouts for dancers for his new project and he runs into some familiar faces
> 
> hyunjin has something to celebrate --- things are getting a bit heated at the end, but nothing explicit!!
> 
> enjoooyyy

_ You’ve got it Minho. It’s no big deal. How long have you been doing this? Since forever! That’s right. It’s good to start fresh, you’ll like it. Now get your ass moving. _

Minho was standing in the changing room that led to a new dance studio, where he would begin to scout new dancers for his new project in this new city.  _ Whew, that’s a lotta ‘new’s. _

He cracked the door open to the studio and saw dancers do their warm-up exercises. He then looked around, checking if he would see a certain black-haired individual somewhere in the room—

“Minho?” 

Minho jumped and almost let out a screech at the sudden voice from behind. He clutched at his chest and turned around to see a wide-eyed Jisung in front of him.  _ He looks a bit like a squirrel, _ was somehow the first thought that popped into Minho’s head.

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to startle you!” Jisung almost squeaked.

“Ya! What are  _ you _ doing here?” Minho took a look at the boy in front of him. He was wearing a big colourful tee, skinny jeans and big bulky boots, different from the usual platform converse, and not exactly an outfit to dance in. Minho realized this was the first time he saw Jisung outside of the coffee shop. “You’re here to watch Hyunjin?”

“No, Hyunjin forgot his lunch so I’m bringing it to him. I’m going to Chan’s later to work on some songs.” Jisung clarified and Minho finally saw that he was clutching a bag as well as carrying a backpack. He was kind of disappointed Jisung wouldn’t stay. “You’re here to teach?”

“To scout, actually. I need dancers for a new project.” He said and hoped Jisung wouldn’t try to convince him to scout Hyunjin.

“Oh, cool! I hope Hyunjin fits your project well.” Jisung smiled and Minho felt grateful for a lot of things suddenly. He’d love to stand there and talk to the boy for an hour or two longer, but they both had something to do. 

“I hope so too.” He said before clapping his hands together and pointing his thumb to the door behind him. “Shall we go?”

“Wait! Uhm, can I ask you one more thing?” Jisung grabbed his arm but quickly let go again. He then fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped at it a couple of times before offering it to Minho. “Do you want to exchange numbers? I feel like it’s time for that.”

Minho froze briefly, for unknown reasons. 

“I actually wanted to ask you and Seungmin tomorrow when you’d visit the shop, but I can just as well ask you now.”  _ Oh, of course.  _ Jisung looked at him with eyes that sparkled with something like hope and Minho took the phone into his hands, changing the contact name to  _ ‘my favourite iced americano drinker’  _ and typing in his number.

Jisung took his phone back and laughed a few breathy laughs at the contact name. He then held out his hand and Minho didn’t know what that meant.  _ Does he want me to take his hand? _

“Give me your phone, I’ll set my number in it.”  _ Ah, of course. _

“Nah, just text me something and I’ll save you myself.” He turned around to signal that they should go into studio. “Should I save you as ‘iced americano maker’ or ‘squirrel guy’?”

“Hey, at least save me as ‘my favourite squirrel guy’ then!” Jisung pushed at Minho's back as they went into the studio. 

A certain black-haired individual perked up at the sight of them. “Jisung!” 

“You forgot your lunch, empty head!” Jisung slapped Hyunjin's head lightly before kissing him on the same spot and handing over the bag. 

Minho then saw Hyunjin whispering something, his eyes flicking to Minho for a second. Jisung just grinned. “It's okay, I think Minho will like a bit of personality with his dancers, haha!”

Jisung gave the tall dancer a quick hug and Minho an excited wave before making his way out. He almost tripped over the ledge to the changing rooms and Minho had to resist the urge to laugh.  _ What an idiot.  _

Minho turned to look at the group of dancers in front of him and any conversation they were having quieted down as they straightened themselves.  _ Jeez, do they already know who I am?  _

“Good morning guys, excuse my tardiness, but I saw you've already warmed up, so that's good. My name's Lee Minho, nice to meet you all.” Him saying his name elicited some more whispering, but he ignored it.

He told the dancers what he had in mind for the project and let them prepare for ten minutes, while he observed them. After that they showed him what they had prepared one by one as Minho filmed them after writing down their names. 

_ Hwang Hyunjin,  _ was the full name of Jisung's fiancé. Minho was looking forward to seeing the clumsy 'empty head', as Jisung had called him, dance. His dancing was anything but clumsy and empty headed, though. 

Hyunjin's moves were powerful yet elegant and he moved as if he was made of silk. The finishings on his moves could use some work, but his lines were clean, which was hard if you had long limbs like him. 

It was impressive and Minho was glad to see it. Jisung had told him that Hyunjin was a hard worker and pretty passionate about dance, which were definitely good things, but he thought he might not even have needed to know that in order for him to consider Hyunjin for this project. 

“Good, nice work. Next one, please.”

After every dancer had showed their dance, Minho went on to teach them a group choreography before sitting down in the back to rewatch the videos of the dancers, telling the dancers to ask him if they needed his help with the choreography. He had told them they were free to come up with their own positions and adjustments.

Upon taking a closer look at the short performances the dancers had given him, Minho became more sure about the fact that Hyunjin’s style of dancing was perfect for this project. He decided on telling the selected dancers their fate at the end of the session.

“Hwang Hyunjin?” He approached the taller, who was drying his face with a towel, hair dripping from sweating a lot.

“Yeah?” Hyunjin didn’t sound very out of breath. Minho handed him a card.

“You’re pretty perfect for my new project, so I’d like you to join me.” He saw Hyunjin’s face light up almost in the same way it did when he’d seen Jisung this morning.

“Of course! I’d love to! Thank you!” Hyunjin bowed and Minho had to suppress a laugh. As the black-haired boy straightened again a shy expression appeared on his face. “Wait— Jisung didn’t threaten you to—”

Minho couldn’t hold back a cackle now, but he quickly composed himself, holding a hand in front of his mouth. Hyunjin was pretty innocent.

“No, of course not. Even if he would, I’m not that easily convinced. I mean it, you’re dancing is impressive and actually exactly what I’m looking for. I look forward to working with you.” Minho gave him a smile and excused himself to tell some more dancers he had chosen them, hearing Hyunjin squeal and celebrate with his dancer buddies behind him.

* * *

“Jisung!!” Hyunjin yelled into his phone as he came outside of the dance studio.

_ “Hyunjin!! Whassup? You sound excited.” _

“Yes! I am!” He was honestly vibrating on the sidewalk, on his way to the bus stop. He couldn’t  _ wait _ to see his fiancé slash best friend and celebrate his new project with him. “Are you home yet?”

_ “Nope, we’re done in about an hour I think. Why?” _

_ Good,  _ Hyunjin thought. That meant he still had time to go to the store and buy some ingredients for a special dinner. “Okay! Don’t eat too much chips, I’ll be cooking tonight!”

_ “You’re not going to tell me why you’re so excited? Jinnie~~”  _ Hyunjin could hear Jisung pouting through the phone. It was endearing. Hearing Jisung’s voice never failed to make him feel all mushy. _ “Wait! Did Minho scout you for his project?!”  _

“You’ll find out when you come home!” He sing-songed as he stepped into the bus. He heard Jisung laugh in a way that told him he already knew the answer. 

As Hyunjin searched for an empty seat somewhere a comfortable silence fell between the fiancés. It was getting somewhat busy already as it was approaching rush hour. He needed to make sure to tell Jisung to try and avoid taking the bus or subway when it was this busy.

Jisung didn’t handle big crowds in small spaces well and busses during rush hour weren’t fun, even for Hyunjin, who didn’t have to deal with social anxiety. 

_ “Hey, Hyunjinnie?”  _ Jisung whispered, as if he knew Hyunjin had just gotten on the bus and he wanted to match his tone before he had even said anything.

“Yes, Sungie?” It was silent for a bit and Hyunjin hoped everything was okay. 

_ “I— I don’t know. I guess I just miss you suddenly. I can’t wait to see you.” _

Hyunjin felt his chest tighten at the words. Did something happen that he said this? Or was Jisung just excited to see him, just like Hyunjin? It wasn’t like Hyunjin didn’t have those times where he suddenly missed seeing his fiancé slash best friend, so he guessed it maybe just was one of those times for him.

“Me too. Don’t come home during rush hour, though.”

_ “I won’t, Changbin’ll give me a ride.”  _

“Okay, that’s good. Good luck on your songs! See you soon, banana baboon!”

_ “See you later, avocado alligator!” _

Hyunjin let out a snort as he heard the weird and totally not romantic but still cute nickname. To be fair, Hyunjin kinda asked for a nickname like that.  _ Maybe I’ll buy some avocados for dinner. _

  
  


He decided not to go too ambitious with cooking, but still something more special than normal. They didn’t have home cooked food very often, unfortunately, but that did mean that whatever he made would be a little special by default.

He also picked out some nice wine for them to drink in celebration. He made sure his hair was acceptable and the smell of sweat was nowhere to be found. He had showered, but still. 

He almost jumped when he heard a key in the lock of their front door. “Jisungie!!”

He tackled the smaller, who almost fell over as he was still in the action of taking his shoes off. Jisung steadied himself by grabbing Hyunjin’s shoulders firmly. 

“Jinnie!!” He exclaimed dangerously close to Hyunjin’s ear before attacking him with a ton of kisses all over his face. Some were so wet that Hyunjin let out a yelp. When his cheeks felt saturated with kisses he pushed the younger away gently.

“Are you hungry?” He asked after stealing a kiss himself. He saw Jisung’s eyes sparkle at the sight of the food.

“You really cooked!” He beamed happily.

“Why are you so surprised?!”

Instead of answering, Jisung just grinned and washed his hands before seating himself at the dining table. He eyed the wine, smelling it as Hyunjin joined him at the table. Jisung put the wine down and locked eyes with Hyunjin.

“Minho said I fit his project perfectly!” He couldn’t hold it back anymore and Jisung probably already figured, but still. 

“I figured, yeah! That’s why I gave you that many kisses. And because I wanted to. Anyway— Congrats! You deserve it!” Jisung was now sending flying kisses across the table. “Let’s toast to that.”

Hyunjin giggled as he picked up his wine glass and lightly hit Jisung’s with it before holding it up. His cheeks were already warm and he hadn’t even drunk anything yet. Jisung stood up, wine glass in hand and began speaking in his formal voice.

“Today, we are gathered to celebrate a very happy moment in our lives! A moment that should’ve come earlier, Hyunjin has cooked dinner!” He held his glass in the air and the other hand was clutched at his chest and Hyunjin cackled at the unexpected twist. Jisung shot him a grin before continuing.

“We are also here to celebrate some secondary festivities, because now my one and only fiancé has the chance to work with the one and only fan of my iced americanos!” Jisung froze with his glass high in the air, his arms spread. He eyed Hyunjin and raised his eyebrows. 

“It’s now your turn to applaud.” Jisung whispered before putting on a smile again. Hyunjin quickly clapped, still giggling. His fiancé was the funniest person alive, he thought.

“Whoop!” He encouraged his fiancé as the latter bowed and sat down again. 

“No, but really, I’m glad Minho thought you fit well. I swear I didn’t say anything to up your chances! I knew you could do it by yourself.” Jisung smiled. “I also appreciate you making dinner when we’re celebrating you, you really didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to. How was your day?”

Hyunjin leaned his head on his hand as he ate and listened to Jisung speak about his day, about the songs they were working on, about stupid things Chan and Changbin had said while trying to justify the equally stupid things he contributed to the conversation. After that Hyunjin told him about his dance and how he almost burned the rice while cooking.

They drank glass after glass of wine, it was good wine, and by the time they had finished dinner, he saw Jisung’s round cheeks were coloured a soft red. They weren’t drunk, not even close, but the wine and their loving conversation had left them with a warm feeling.

“What did you have in mind for dessert?” Jisung offered Hyunjin a smirk as they cleaned up.  _ Oh shit, dessert! _ He had totally forgotten to get a cheesecake in his excitement. He then got an idea.

“What about a very special dessert?” He snatched the brown-haired boy by the waist and brought their faces close to convey what he meant. He kept his eyes focused on Jisung’s cute lips and he saw them spread out into that heart shaped smile he loved.

“Sounds good.” Jisung said before wrapping his arms around Hyunjin’s neck and pulling him into a soft kiss. They let their lips dance around each other until they were out of breath. When they pulled apart, Hyunjin looked into Jisung’s dark big eyes and something about it made a hot feeling course through his veins.

Jisung then pulled him down again, the softness of the first kiss replaced by a sudden eagerness, desperateness? Hyunjin almost stumbled forward but he steadied himself against a kitchen counter, enclosing Jisung between his arms. He returned the kiss just as eagerly, leaning in impossibly closer. If Jisung wanted to make out, he wouldn’t refuse.

He licked into Jisung’s mouth and his tongue was welcomed warmly by another. Jisung tasted like wine and dinner, mixed with a bit of saltiness from the chips he probably ate while working. The taste made Hyunjin’s head spin and he felt heat pool in his abdomen, his muscles tightening involuntarily. 

He was just aware of things enough to realize it might not be the most comfortable position to be pressed against a kitchen counter and he was craning his own neck as well, so he squatted a bit to lift Jisung up. Jisung got the hint and wrapped his legs around Hyunjin’s waist, while Hyunjin held Jisung tightly by his tiny waist. 

He felt his fiancé’s fingers tangle in his hair, pulling a bit and Hyunjin had to stop himself from making too much sound, almost biting his own tongue in the process. He quickly brought them to the bedroom, dropping Jisung onto the mattress as he left a trail of kisses from his jaw to his neck to his collarbones before taking off his shirt and discarding it somewhere behind him.

Jisung followed, stripping himself of his own shirt before letting Hyunjin nibble and softly bite at the exposed skin. The boy's heavy breathing near his ear was driving him insane. Jisung then pulled Hyunjin into a sloppy kiss again, his other hand pushing him down against his lower back. 

Hyunjin gasped out of the kiss as Jisung bucked up his hips to meet him halfway. He met Jisung's lidded eyes, both of their chest heaving. 

“You sure?” Hyunjin asked just in case. They had been dating for a month now, but they had never gotten past a heated make-out session before as that was tiring enough with their busy schedules. For some reason he felt like there was some uncharacteristic desperation to Jisung's kisses, but he could be mistaken.  


But Jisung nodded and they continued where they left off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a very special dessert....... oof


	8. Maybe the feeling would go away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The jingle of the door sounded and Jeongin and Jisung both whipped their heads to see who was coming in, sighing and resuming what they were doing after a while. It apparently wasn’t the person they were hoping for, again.
> 
> “Do— Do I need to go and help him again?” Changbin stuttered. Those two had been like that all morning, making Changbin handle all the customers that were not right for them.
> 
> “Yes.” Jeongin sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for anxiety i guess! its only slight but just in case

Jisung opened his eyes and felt something heavy on his chest, hair tickling his throat. He looked down to see that Hyunjin was asleep, his head resting on top of him. Jisung carred a hand through the thick locks as he let himself wake up. 

With his other hand he grabbed his phone to check the time, it was a little before his alarm would go off, but he turned it off in advance. He thought back on last night, remembering the sensation of Hyunjin. They didn’t go _that_ far, but Jisung felt bittersweet for some reason, like he had done something he shouldn’t. 

He couldn’t deny he had enjoyed it, but now a slight feeling of guilt was settling in his stomach. _Why am I feeling like this?_ Jisung had felt like he needed to distract himself with his fiancé lately, but from what he needed to distract himself was still a mystery to him.

He took a deep breath and gently lifted Hyunjin off of him to get up and get dressed for work, planting a soft kiss on the boy’s forehead in the meantime. He hoped Hyunjin wouldn’t wake up too soon, because he would definitely notice there was something off. Jisung knew it was better to be honest with Hyunjin, but he didn’t even know what was wrong himself.

Maybe the feeling would go away, maybe he just wasn’t used to everything yet.

* * *

The jingle of the door sounded and Jeongin and Jisung both whipped their heads to see who was coming in, sighing and resuming what they were doing after a while. It apparently wasn’t the person they were hoping for, _again_.

“Do— Do I need to go and help him again?” Changbin stuttered. Those two had been like that all morning, making Changbin handle all the customers that were not right for them.

“Yes.” Jeongin sighed, but Jisung stayed quiet. Changbin pouted a bit but was rudely ignored.

He let out a sigh and went to help the customer. After that he decided to confront his coworkers on their mood. 

“Yo, Jeongin, Jisung! What is up with you two today? Jisung, weren’t you all excited this morning that Hyunjin got scouted for a project? With Minho nonetheless, cause, he’s like famous or something, right?” He tried to get the attention of the two, but they kept either mindlessly wiping the same counter, which Jisung had been doing for the last twenty minutes, or stirring the milk.

Changbin grabbed both their arms to stop the endless cycle. “Enough cleaning and stirring! Stop ignoring me. Who are you even waiting for?”

He kind of had an idea, Jeongin was probably waiting for his crush Felix to come, and Jisung for Seungmin and Minho, who might bring Hyunjin as well, but he still asked.

“I’m waiting for Felix…” Jeongin gently slapped Changbin’s arm to make him let go. _Okay, as expected. What about Jisung?_ Changbin turned his attention to the boy holding a washcloth.

“I’m not waiting for anyone.” Jisung denied. 

“Don’t lie to me, Sungie.” Changbin whined to his friend.

“What happened to you annoying us all with your _‘Only a little left until Minho and Seungmin probably come!’_ ?” Jeongin came to help, seemingly forgetting all about his dramatics from earlier. “At least _I’m_ honest.” 

“Yeah, but I don’t even know if they’re coming today. Now that Minho is working in this city, I don’t know if his lunch time overlaps with Seungmin’s…” Jisung trailed off, but then he lightened up. Changbin saw the metaphoric light bulb get turned on inside Jisung’s brain. _Wait, is that a weird thing to think? Is it intruding to imagine a light bulb inside someone’s brain? Where does that metaphor even come from?_

“What? What just happened to your face?” Jeongin was squinting at Jisung, bringing Changbin back to reality again. Apparently he had missed something which had to do with Jisung’s face. “You looked like you were going to go all _‘Eureka!’_ or something and then you were all like hmmmmmm maybe not.”

Jisung pouted in thought, placing his finger on his chin, a slight frown scrunching up his face. Changbin couldn’t help himself and reached over to smoothen his forehead, pushing the eyebrows apart with two fingers. 

“I just realized I have Minho’s number, so I could just text him and ask, but...” He trailed off again and Changbin wondered why he was suddenly acting shy like this. Jisung had never been shy around Minho and Seungmin, he was pretty himself, especially around Minho. “What if I interrupt them? Maybe I should just text Hyunjin? Or am I burdening him then? It’s probably still interrupting if I do that.” 

“Just text Seungmin then.” Jeongin casually waved his hand, but the movement was interrupted by the jingle of the door and Jeongin whipping his head around again. _He is going to hurt himself if he keeps doing that._

“Chan? What the heck.” The youngest frowned. _Chan? Since when was he gone?_

“What. Since when were you out?” Jisung turned around to look at their boss slash coworker— he wasn’t that bossy— slash friend slash co-producer.

“You all really didn’t hear me when I said I was getting some more stuff?” Chan walked over with a pout. “You guys didn’t miss me at all?”

“You are always in the kitchen so we miss you even without us noticing you’re not even in the shop.” Changbin answered and Chan cooed at them, ruffling their heads. 

“ _Anyway,_ Jisung, just text Seungmin.” Jeongin continued their conversation from earlier and Chan raised his eyebrows in curiosity, halting in his way to the kitchen.

“I don’t have Seungmin’s number…” Jisung mumbled, fiddling with his apron. _How did he get Minho’s number then?_

“Wait— What?!” Jeongin exclaimed, eyes wide. “I thought you had someone—”

Jeongin stopped mid-sentence, probably realizing he was implying that Jisung was cheating or something. Chan frowned in confusion, moving his gaze between the three boys. 

“What is this about?” The curly haired boy asked.

“Huh? Wh— What are you guys thinking?! I just ran into Minho yesterday when I was bringing Hyunjin his lunch and I figured I’d ask him for his number there instead of waiting for them to come to the shop today!” Jisung’s face was bright red. “You guys weren’t seriously thinking that I’m—?!”

“Well, I don’t know! I couldn’t think of any other reason you’d have Minho’s number but not Seungmin’s… And you and Minho get along well! Seungmin and Minho’s weird marriage obviously isn’t really working, like, romantically, you know, and I’ve only seen your boyfriend once!” Jeongin was red now as well. “I’m sorry! I blurted it out without thinking!”

“It’s okay, you couldn’t know that I ran into him.” Jisung murmured, his eyes to the ground. “And— _technically_ he’s my fiancé, you didn’t know that as well, although it’s not a conventional engagement either.”

“ _What?!_ ” Jeongin quickly slapped a hand in front of his mouth at his yell. “Sorry! I sometimes forget I’m loud. Anyway! You’ll tell me about _that_ later, for now, just text Minho and ask if he’s coming with Seungmin today. He can ignore the text until he’s not busy anymore, you don’t have to be all insecure about it.”

Changbin nodded, agreeing with Jeongin, and Chan’s eyes widened, finally understanding what they had been talking about earlier. “Okay, I understand now, but— Jisung— why do you think you can’t just text Minho and ask if he’s coming today?”

Chan gave the younger a look and Jisung’s expression turned slightly nervous. Chan had a habit of looking right through people and Changbin began to wonder if something had happened between Jisung and Minho— or Jisung and Hyunjin?

“I don’t know. There’s just— I don’t know. I honestly haven’t got a clue, sorry. I’ll text him.”

Changbin didn’t understand what he was referring to, but apparently Jisung didn’t have an explanation for his feelings right now. _That’s okay._ Chan let his gaze linger on the brown haired boy who was fishing his phone out of his pocket for a bit longer, studying him.

Jeongin got back to work and Changbin contemplated also going back to work or asking Chan what he was thinking. Before he had the chance to decide he heard the way too familiar jingle of the door and a gasp.

“Felix!” Changbin turned around to see Jeongin wave excitedly at the boy who made all of their work days a little lighter. Felix smiled brightly at Jeongin.

“Hi, Innie! Binnie! Channie! Sungie! How’s it going?” 

They greeted each other and Changbin had long forgotten what he was thinking about before Felix had entered. 

“So… Uhm, you’re later than usual, any specific reason for that?” Jeongin asked the boy shyly and Changbin had to keep himself under control. _No surprise hugs at work, Changbin! You promised!_

Felix let out a laugh. “Well— It’s funny— I just overslept because I was playing games all night, haha!” 

“Really? Which game? Console or PC?” Jeongin leaned over the counter enthusiastically and Changbin decided to stop listening there. He didn’t want to eavesdrop and he didn’t know shit about games, so he focused on work again.

* * *

Chan locked the door behind him, letting out a sigh after a long day of work. “Good work today guys and Jeongin, good work on finally fixing a date with Felix!”

He clapped the youngest on his shoulder proudly. Jeongin shook the hand off. “It’s not a date! We’re just hanging out and playing games together! I am totally looking forward to it, though.”

Chan smiled at his cute coworker, he was glad Jeongin liked Felix, he was sure Felix liked Jeongin as well. There was something else he was curious about, though. He turned to face Jisung, who had been acting a bit strange today.

He had suddenly visited Chan in the kitchen at one point, telling him he was just checking up on him, but Chan saw signs of nervousness in the boy’s way of moving and in his expression. When Chan had stepped out of the kitchen for a second to check what was going on he saw Minho, Seungmin and Hyunjin had entered the shop.

He believed Jisung when he said that he didn’t know why he was feeling nervous or insecure all day and he didn’t want to speculate.

“Hey, Ji, did you figure out what was bothering you today?” Chan offered the boy a smile that, hopefully, told him that he wouldn’t judge. Jisung smiled an appreciative smile back.

“No not really, but I feel better already. It probably wasn’t that important, maybe I just had a bad dream that I forgot and the feeling lingered.” He said and Chan let it go. He was inclined to believe Jisung, but had the feeling that whatever was bothering the boy might come back. “Hey, can we finish the last bits of work today, by the way? Hyunjin said he’d be working tomorrow and I promised him I’d come with him.”

“Ooh! You’re going to do your cool producer thingies with each other again? Sing and rap and make some melodies and stuff?” Jeongin wiggled his hips a bit as if he was a white dad dancing at a barbeque, he even made jazz hands and Chan bit back a laugh. 

“You make it seem like we’re going to make jingles for canned tuna or something!” Jisung exclaimed.

“It’s not my fault you have never let me heard anything you made.” 

“Well be prepared to be spammed with our songs in our work chat tonight!” Changbin proudly grinned. 

They said their goodbyes and made their way to Chan’s apartment to finish any work they had to do so Jisung could go with Hyunjin to his work tomorrow. Chan hoped that would be good for Jisung, rather than not.

* * *

  
  


“Thaaaannnkk yooouuu again for coming with me today! You didn’t have to work all late and stuff yesterday for that.” Hyunjin hugged him after they had changed into their dance clothes, well Jisung didn’t really have dance clothes, but he had just picked something sporty.

“I wanted to! It’ll be fun. Unless I embarrass myself while dancing, ‘cause Minho will definitely make me dance and otherwise you will.” Jisung shook his head in fake disapproval and Hyunjin chuckled before dragging him into the studio.

Jisung tried to push the nerves creeping up from his stomach into his chest back down as he saw Minho greet him with a smile. He had woken up this morning to a string of texts from Minho to ‘hype him up’ for today. Apparently Hyunjin had told Minho that Jisung was ‘pretty good’ at dancing, so Minho had obviously gotten expectations and Jisung was too prideful for his own good.

He had replied to the messages with fake confidence and now he was exploding with nerves. He usually didn’t suffer from stage fright too much, but improvising a silly dance in front of his friends was different from dancing in front of professional dancers and choreographers.

“Hey, look at that! It’s Han Jisung in something else than jeans! I’m glad to see you here.” Minho shot him a grin. “I’m looking forward to teaching you some dancing!”

“T— Teach me?” Jisung's eyes went wide and when he turned to his fiancé slash best friend for help, he saw the boy had already begun warming up. “Look, I can improvise some funny dance, but I'm not anywhere near as good as anyone else in this room.”

Minho tilted his head in question. “So? I can't teach if the student has nothing to learn.”

Minho then motioned at one of the mirror covered walls for him to join Hyunjin in stretching. “Make sure to warm up before stretching!” 

And so he did, following Hyunjin and Minho's instructions until he was beginning to sweat already. He felt a little awkward and anxious between all of those strangers who were way better than he was at anything they were doing here. It wasn't a particularly big group, but there were still about fifteen people he didn't know in the room. 

He felt his heart pound in his ears, felt a bit more out of breath than he should. Minho was now giving the group of dancers instructions, first telling them how they could improve on the bits of choreography they learned last time, using all kinds of terms Jisung could only guess the meaning of, and then introducing the next parts. 

If there was one way to describe how Jisung felt right now, it was _out of place._ It didn't get better when Minho ended his talk with a look directed straight at him. 

“You want to join, Jisung?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a sudden ending, but otherwise the chapter would get SUPER long...! next time the continuation of jisung joining the dance practice


	9. Why did the universe curse me with feelings for him?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yes, but I’m having a lot of fun with that, it’s like I’m not working, like I’m taking extra breaks.” Minho really didn’t have to be all kind like that and Jisung really didn’t need to want to spend more time with Minho. But their bond was almost undeniable, because it felt like they had known each other for years, when in fact it was weeks. 
> 
> “Oh, well, I know I’m a delight to hang around. I’m, like, almost identical to going on a relaxing summer vacation, I hear that a lot.” Jisung dusted his clothes to signal he was ready to dance again and Minho let out a very loud cackle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the continuation of previous events at the dance studio!  
> some more sappy content....!
> 
> enjooooyyy

“You want to join, Jisung?” 

Jisung's eyes widened as suddenly everyone's attention was focused on him. He felt panic rise up in his chest and he tried to calm himself. He didn't notice Hyunjin was slightly frowning in concern at him.

He opened his mouth to say  _ 'no, please no' _ , but his voice took its sweet time to wake up. Most of the time he could put on a front and pretend, but these were  _ professionals _ and he didn’t know any of them except for Hyunjin and Minho, but Minho could still judge him. 

“You know what, come here, just watch for now while I teach them the moves.” Minho silently gestured Jisung to come over and sit where he was sitting. 

Jisung then watched as Minho very patiently and clearly taught the group the moves, showing them their positions and making sure to check if everyone got it. It was amazing to see. 

Hyunjin picked up the moves very quickly, just like the rest, but you couldn't blame Jisung for only paying attention to Hyunjin. Well, he would be lying if he said he wasn't also looking at Minho every time he was speaking or demonstrating a certain move. 

He was mesmerized by this new side of Lee Minho, a somewhat soft, hardworking, patient yet strict and no-nonsense side of him. It was different yet similar to what he was used to seeing in the coffee-shop. It was a bit less casual, but still sweet.

And then there was his dancing, his style very different from Hyunjin's, very clean and sophisticated. He couldn't explain what exactly was different, but he couldn't say he was less mesmerized. 

He got warm from just watching them and when Minho met his eyes through the mirror and sent him a smile, bordering on a smirk, Jisung felt his ears light on fire, feeling caught. He did his best to hide his embarrassment and he sent his best smirk back. 

Gosh, Minho was breathtaking. The way he studied the dancers through the mirror was breathtaking, his hair wiped out of his face except for a few sweaty strands that were sticking to his forehead, showing his eyebrows that were slightly knitted in concentration. Dark eyes flitted left and right, probably studying the moves in the same detail as Jisung was studying the juxtaposition of the soft and sharp features of the man's face. 

He found it was pretty easy to get lost in the depths of the choreographer's way too well proportioned face and Jisung may have desperately needed a map to guide him away from the strange pull those cat-like eyes had. Away from the piramide-like nose that scrunched up in fake disgust whenever Seungmin said something which could be interpreted as friendly, or in delight as he laughed at something awkward or funny. 

Away from the diamond-shaped lips that permanently stuck out slightly, and curled up in a beautiful and sometimes childlike smile, pushing out his cheeks. 

Before he could get aware of the path his thoughts had taken, Minho's eyes scrunched up as he smiled and clapped and praised the dancers. Jisung was pulled back to reality and clapped as well as he remembered where he was.

“You guys got the hang of it, I see. Let's now practice until we can do these parts in our dreams!” 

After Jisung had smiled proudly at Hyunjin and had given him a thumbs up, the dancers started replaying the song, going over the choreography again and again. Minho came over to sit next to him, cross-legged on the studio floor, just like Jisung. Their knees were touching lightly, which wasn’t a problem at all.

“Are you okay?” Minho asked for some reason. Jisung was confused at first, but as he met eyes with the older, his heart jumped and his stomach made a double somersault. The soft look with which Minho looked at him made him recall his thoughts from earlier.  _ Shit. _

“...What do you mean?” He decided to ask. Jisung prayed that Minho didn’t see through him, because that would fuck things up real bad.  _ I’ll get over this, it’s just a temporary feeling. _

“You looked like you wanted to run right out of here for a second, when I asked you if you wanted to join.” Minho explained, motioning with his arms from the mirror to the door to illustrate what he meant.  _ Oh okay, he’s talking about that. Phew. _

“Oh. That. Yeah, uhm, I’m okay, I get anxiety sometimes when there are a lot of strangers, like close to me, and it gets worse when I’m also feeling out of place.” He gave Minho a relieved smile disguised as a reassuring one. He then straightened himself. “The funny thing is, I don’t really suffer from severe stage fright, it’s  _ inside _ of a crowd that I usually feel like… uhm, really bad.”

“Oh really?” Minho seemed to be attentively listening, leaning toward Jisung a bit. “Wait, so you also get anxious when you’re with people you know and you’re surrounded by strangers?”

Jisung nodded. “Depends on the situation a bit, for example, it does help to have a friend when I’m at a concert or it’s busy in the subway or something, but if I’m with a friend and their large group of friends, who I don’t know, and they have a conversation I still get anxious sometimes. It’s— It’s hard to explain… I dislike going out alone.”

Minho nodded understandingly and placed his hand on Jisung’s. His hands were warm. “And what usually helps in those kinds of situations?”

Jisung had a hard time concentrating on the question as he was too busy contemplating if he would go too far by intertwining their fingers. They had done it earlier, as a friendly gesture, and Minho’s hand was already atop of his, but the previous time Jisung had done it to calm Minho down, and now he felt a bit jittery, yes, but he decided he shouldn’t do it.

“Usually it helps to get me out of the crowd. And if I’m still useless after that, or it’s impossible to get me out of the crowd, it helps to distract me— or rather, to let me focus on something else. Something I can touch, smell, see… that kinda thing.” Jisung was already unconsciously playing with one of the rings on Minho’s short fingers. When he realized he immediately stopped the motion.

“Okay, good to know.” Minho smiled and stood up holding out a hand to Jisung, who took it without much thought. “It’ll be fine if I just teach you a simple choreography while they’re practicing, right?”

_ Will that be fine?  _ Well, Hyunjin wanted him to dance very badly, so he guessed it would be fine. “Yeah, that’s okay. Don’t expect too much, though!”

“Okay, then. I’ll teach you something I used to teach the kids ranging from about five to eight years old then.” Minho smirked evilly and Jisung hit him with a fist to his upper arm.

“Don’t lower your expectations  _ that _ much!” 

  
  


Dancing with Minho went better than expected, Minho really was a good teacher. Jisung did notice that the way Minho taught him the moves was different from how he had taught the group, overall more snarky comments in between, but he also came over to show Jisung what he had to do by physically moving Jisung’s limbs into the right position more.

Jisung thought he would get over his sudden weird feelings around Minho, but why did Minho’s touch burn on his skin, then?  _ I just gotta give myself some time to get over it.  _ For now he ignored the warm feeling he got, tried to convince himself it was the physical exercise, and focused on memorizing the moves and executing them right.

“Hyunjin wasn’t lying when he said you’re pretty good!” Minho said as he watched him closely through the mirror. “You’re also picking it up pretty quickly, did you ever dance?”

“Only in middle school with Hyunjin.” Jisung had the urge to wipe a strand of sweaty hear out of his face, but that wasn’t part of the moves, so he resisted. 

“Your body remembers a lot, even if you don’t dance for a long time, the techniques stick. I can tell you have a little experience.” Minho really knew a lot about dancing and Jisung did feel like he was easily picking up the moves, but maybe that was just because Minho was such a good teacher.

“But then again, maybe I’m just a brilliant teacher.” The brown haired choreographer wiggled his eyebrows as if he had read Jisung’s mind.

“Nah, I think I’m just a prodigy.” Jisung ended his dance by over-exaggerating the final move and then he let himself fall to the ground, exhausted and sweaty. He spread his arms and tried to suck up as much coolness from the wooden floor as he could, taking deep breaths.

“Tired already?!” Minho bent over him with wide eyes and Jisung just shot him an angry look, too tired to say something. Jisung noticed it was pretty quiet and when he turned his head to look at the group of dancers on the other side of the studio he saw they were taking a break as well.

After a short while of lying down and regaining his breath, Jisung and Minho joined the group to eat something and Jisung was greeted by Hyunjin with a cute eye smile and a loving pat on the head. Jisung patted his knee in return. 

They talked about what they had been up to and what they had seen from each other while munching on their lunch. Hyunjin was really excited and Jisung was, despite some feelings he shouldn’t have, very glad he’d come with his fiancé today, he had fun and he also couldn’t wait to show Hyunjin what he had learned. 

After the break Minho let Jisung practice on his own for a bit, while he focused on the group again. Then he joined Jisung again and immediately pointed out that he should be careful with turning if he would place his foot like that.

“Aren’t you getting tired from seeing every flaw in everyone’s dance?” Jisung laughed as he put his hands on his knees to catch his breath after almost falling after a turn. Minho laughed as well, but Jisung was also kind of serious. “No, seriously, I mean, you’re doing more work than you usually would by teaching me on the side, right?”

“Yes, but I’m having a lot of fun with that, it’s like I’m not working, like I’m taking extra breaks.” Minho really didn’t have to be all kind like that and Jisung really didn’t need to want to spend more time with Minho. But their bond was almost undeniable, because it felt like they had known each other for years, when in fact it was weeks. 

_ Why did the universe curse me with feelings for him? Please let us just be best friends or something. _

“Oh, well, I know I’m a delight to hang around. I’m, like, almost identical to going on a relaxing summer vacation, I hear that a lot.” Jisung dusted his clothes to signal he was ready to dance again and Minho let out a very loud cackle.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s get going again, I’m going to join you now.” Minho stepped next to Jisung, facing forward to the mirror instead of facing Jisung, like he did earlier.

“What? You’re what?” He froze in his spot and Minho laughed once again.  _ Curse me for being so funny, even without intending to! _

“This choreography was made for two, so I’m joining you.” Minho wiggled his shoulders a bit and moved his head from side to side, getting ready to dance. 

Jisung hadn’t noticed the choreography was made for two people and he hoped he wouldn’t have to change a lot of things. He certainly hoped he wouldn’t have to dance with Minho, like,  _ with _ with Minho.

“Don’t worry, it’s not an obvious two person choreography. The only new thing you have to do is move from side to side a bit more. Come on, let’s just do it, you’ll see.” Minho patted Jisung’s arm and started to count down to start. 

Jisung really didn’t have to do a lot apart from take an extra step between moves as Minho moved around him, the two of them dancing in pretty impressive synchronisation as Minho counted the steps. It was really fun to see it coming together like this and Jisung couldn’t say he hated getting some exercise, especially if it was like this. 

Especially seeing Minho’s dazzling smile after they finished the choreography once made all of that sweat and the ache in his muscles he’d feel the next day more than worth it. Minho rushed to him, wrapping his arms around Jisung’s waist and almost throwing him in the air.

Jisung quickly steadied himself as Minho twirled around once, wrapping his arms around Minho’s neck, his feet wiggling a couple of centimeters above ground. His heart was flying simultaneously with him. The older put him down again, eyes still small from smiling. “Sorry, got a little excited there.”

Jisung was at loss for words and he immediately missed Minho’s arms around him. He couldn’t hold back a bright smile himself now and he must’ve looked like an absolute fool, smiling at the choreographer like that, but he wasn’t going to let anything ruin this amazing day, so he decided to turn his brain off for now and let go. “Let’s go again?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time more happenings at the dance practice!


	10. I did it to calm you down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why didn’t you tell me I looked like a hedgehog!?” Was the first thing the boy said as he came over to the kitchen, gesturing at his hair.
> 
> “Because it was cute.” Minho blurted out. Well, it was the truth. He giggled as he saw Jisung’s cheeks become a fiery red.
> 
> “I doubt it was.” He murmured, avoiding Minho’s eyes. 
> 
> “Here’s your tea, Han Jisung.” Minho handed him his mug, and of course their hands brushed as Jisung took it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still at the dance studio!  
> tw for a panic attack later on in the chapter when they're taking the subway! but after that more soft content
> 
> enjooooyyy

Before he knew it, it was time to wrap up with the group showing their progress and Minho giving them some closing remarks and compliments. Jisung complimented Hyunjin a lot as well as the rest of the group went to the changing rooms. 

“Can I see what you two have been up to?” Hyunjin was almost bouncing on the ground even though he was very sweaty and probably tired. Jisung was very excited to show the choreography as well, though. 

“Let’s do it!” He exclaimed and they got into their position, meaning they went to stand next to each other. Jisung counted down from three and they began. He kept his eyes focused mostly on himself while he was dancing, it was easier that way, but he also met Minho’s eyes every once in a while as they slid past each other. 

As they finished the choreography Jisung felt a rush of happiness and he understood why Hyunjin loved dancing this much. Said fiancé tackled him in a hug and began yelling in his ear. “I told you you were great!”

“Well, Minho is a pretty good teacher.” Jisung admitted. “But I guess I’m pretty genius as well.” 

“I can’t believe you got to dance with Minho before me.” Hyunjin moved his exaggeratedly shocked gaze between Jisung and Minho. 

“I guess my charms just won him over.” Jisung blurted out without thinking. _Shit. I’m joking, Hyunjin! I’m joking!_

Luckily Hyunjin laughed at his joke, it was definitely a joke, because the way Minho looked away for half a second before saying his come back meant he wasn’t charmed by Jisung at all and the opposite was even less true, Jisung was not even close to being won over by Minho’s charms.

“It’s actually a privilege some people who need some extra attention get, you know, to make them more confident in their skills.” It was meant as a fake insult, but why did the way Minho say it make Jisung dizzy, then?

“Hyunjin needs a lot of attention, too, though, isn’t that right?” He cooed at his fiancé to distract himself from certain things and Hyunjin rolled his eyes at him before getting up and suggesting they go and take a shower now. 

There were three men’s changing rooms, so enough for each of them to take a separate one and shower in private, but Jisung didn’t know if there were showers in every room. He also thought Hyunjin might want to shower together. 

What he didn’t expect was that Minho got into the same changing room as them. Jisung shot him a wide eyed and shocked, probably bordering on horrified, look. Minho burst out in laughing for the nth time today.

“Jeez, don’t panic, there are shower cubicles, we’ll all have our privacy.” He said between breathy laughs. “Not enough space for two people, I’m afraid.”

“Ya!” Hyunjin yelled. _Phew._

  
  


It was raining, no, _pouring._ The skies were dark and it seemed like it was going to storm soon. _Blegh, reaching the station in this weather is going to be fun._ The dance studio was too close to the station to be able to justify taking the bus, Jisung doubted if there even was a bus stop between near the studio that was actually closer to the station, but it was also still a walk that would take over five minutes, long enough to get absolutely _soaked_ in this weather.

“God, nice weather, huh?” Minho shivered as he looked outside. “I take it none of you brought an umbrella, either?” 

Hyunjin shook his head. “Should we take the bus to the station? Minho, do you need to go that way as well?”

“Yeah, I need to take subway 45 at the station.” 

“Oh, us too.”

“We can go together, then.” Minho said as he examined the sky. He then turned his gaze to the other two. “ _I’m_ definitely taking the bus, if we run we can make it without getting too wet.”

Hyunjin and Jisung nodded and the latter sighed. _More exercise… I hope my legs won’t give out along the way._ They all covered themselves with their jacket, Hyunjin keeping Jisung close so he was also under his jacket a bit, and then they made a run for it. The two fiancés ran after Minho to the bus stop, panting when they arrived and were safe from the rain for a while.

The bus arrived pretty soon as well, but Jisung could see from outside that there were no available seats inside. It made sense since this was probably the last stop before the station and it was raining, but he hoped it wouldn’t be this busy in the subway. He checked his phone for the time: _17:30, shit._

“Oh shit, it’s about rush hour isn’t it?” Hyunjin pulled Jisung a little closer as he looked around at all of the people in the bus. 

“It’s okay, it’s not that crowded in here.” Jisung wasn’t lying and he saw Minho was subtly keeping an eye on him as well. He didn’t particularly like being treated like this when it wasn’t necessary, although he appreciated the concern.

He pushed Hyunjin away a little, silently telling him he was fine and they could take their space. It was a short ride to the station anyway, no big deal.

When they made their way to the subway terminal, however, they were flooded with a heavy crowd, all rushing because of the weather, even though they were under a roof. God, how much Jisung hated this.

“Jesus! What’s going on? It’s not usually _this_ busy!” Hyunjin almost got knocked over by a man in a suit carrying a briefcase. 

It wasn’t any better inside the carriage and Jisung tried his best to ignore the people pushing him, standing way too close to him. He also tried to will away the panic that came with the situation. At least he could hide himself against Hyunjin's chest. As long as he stayed close to his friends, it would be fine, right?

“When's your stop?” Minho whispered, but it was loud enough for Jisung to hear clearly above the sounds of the carriage, which meant he was close behind him. Jisung was glad for that fact. 

“Fourth one.” Hyunjin answered as he kept himself steady with one arm and kept Jisung close with the other. 

“Okay, mine's fifth.” 

Jisung really wanted them to keep talking, so he would have something other than Hyunjin's shirt to focus on, but he couldn't find his voice to ask. _Fucking anxiety, go away! Really what's so scary about crowds?_

Every stop there seemed to be more people getting in than out and he began to wonder where they were all going, if not to the central station. It seemed to take ages before they arrived at their stop, the subway doors opening a fourth time since they got on. Hyunjin took him by the arm and started maneuvering to the exit and Jisung noticed Minho walked alongside them. 

When they reached it, there were both people trying to get in and out at the same time and Jisung almost tripped and fell over as he was pushed around. Suddenly the grip on his arm was gone and he looked up into a sea of bodies, Hyunjin nowhere to be found. He looked around but he really couldn’t find Hyunjin. He also didn’t hear him. He only heard the freaking crowd. _Shit, where did he go? Is he getting pushed around as well? Shit shit shit shit!! What do I do?_

There he stood, just outside of the carriage, looking around for his fiancé feeling totally and utterly lost, his chest and throat feeling tighter and tighter. His thoughts were clouded by sheer panic as he couldn't find Hyunjin and he was surrounded by unfamiliar faces and voices, complaining and huffing. 

So he did was his body felt was right at the moment, now that his brain wasn't working, which was shut his eyes and try to count to ten while taking deep breaths. Before he could get very far, he felt a hand grab his arm again, but it wasn't Hyunjin's hand, it was way too small for that. 

He wanted to scream when he felt himself getting pulled into the carriage again, but his voice was still missing. He soon fell against a figure, probably from the person who had pulled him inside, and he looked up. _Minho? Oh thank goodness it's him and not some stranger._

He let out a relieved, but still choked sigh. He noticed his breathing was frantic and he wondered how long it had been that way. Minho pushed his head up, making Jisung look at him, fingers lightly pushing against Jisung's jaw. 

“Jisung— Look at me— Sungie—” This was the first time Minho called him 'Sungie'. “—What happen— No, sorry, talk to me. Tell me what kinds of things you can see.”

Jisung took a breath and tried speaking. “You. Your eyes, nose— You have a mole on your nose—” 

He swallowed, his throat still feeling tight. “I see a lot of people, a shampoo advertisement and a subway map.”

“Good, what can you hear?” 

“The carriage, uhm— uhh—” 

“It's okay, keep your eyes on me.” Minho held Jisung's arm in a tight grip. 

“I hear you, someone making a phone call… the carriage slowing down.”

“Yes. This is my stop, let's get you out of here.” Minho pushed Jisung forward while holding on to both of his arms and he kept talking. “Tell me about some things you can touch or feel right now.”

“I feel your hands on my arms, my jeans are kinda damp and— and— the straps of my backpack.” He felt himself slowly become more calm as Minho guided him out of the crowd towards a quiet part, just outside of the subway station, but so that they were still covered. 

The older turned him around so they were facing each other again and Minho examined Jisung’s face as he let his hands slide along the younger’s upper arms before letting go.

“Tell me what kind of things you can smell.”

He tried to focus on the smells of his surroundings. “I can smell the rain— my sweaty socks— and… something lavendery?” 

Jisung frowned a little, trying to find the source of the lavendery smell. He forgot all about his anxiety and panic, his breathing steadying, but he couldn’t find the source. “Do you smell that as well? Or am I going crazy?” 

Jisung looked at Minho and saw his expression had become blank, his cheeks slightly pink. 

“Uhm… My body wash has a slight lavender smell.”

“Oh.” Jisung didn’t know what to say to that, but at least he was calm now. “Thank you, by the way. I couldn’t find Hyunjin suddenly and there were just _so many_ people and—”

“You don’t have to justify it. It can happen, I hope I didn’t make it worse by grabbing you so suddenly.” 

“Well, I kind of thought for two seconds I was going to die when I felt someone grabbing me, but I think it would be worse if you left me there.” Jisung didn’t want to think of what would’ve happened if Minho hadn’t pulled him back into the carriage and Hyunjin wouldn’t have found him within two minutes.

He took a deep breath, shaking any leftover nerves out of his body and then he wrapped his arms around Minho’s waist, pulling him close and resting his cheek against Minho’s chest. The older froze for a second before returning the hug.

“Thank you.” 

* * *

Minho felt his insides flip as Jisung’s cheek was squished against his chest. He didn’t know if he would be overstepping his boundaries by carding a hand through the younger’s hair, so he didn’t. He was very glad Jisung was thankful for his impulsive behaviour, Minho just couldn’t watch as Jisung stood there, frozen in panic.

Suddenly a loud _bang_ sounded and Minho jumped, before he hid his head in the space between Jisung’s neck and shoulder, fisting the fabric of the younger’s shirt. _What was that?!_

“Huh? Is it thundering?” Minho felt Jisung raise his head and then giggle slightly. “Are you afraid of thunder, Minho?”

Minho pushed them apart. “No! I was just startled— It was loud!”

He then took Jisung by the wrist and started walking to the exit of the station. “Come on, I’m taking you to my house, you can call Hyunjin in the bus. You’re not going home alone when it’s this busy.”

“O—Okay.”

Once they were outside they started running for the bus and once they were under cover Jisung dialed Hyunjin, telling him what happened and even though Minho couldn’t hear what Hyunjin was saying, he could tell that Hyunjin was suggesting to come and pick him up.

“It’s okay, Jinnie. It’s storming and it’s probably still pretty busy in the subway, I can come home by myself when it clears up— No— It’s not your fault! You can’t help that people are rude— I’m really okay, don’t worry. Yes, that’s fine. Yeah you can come pick me up later if that’ll make you feel better, but you don’t have to. Okay, text me later. Kisses!” Jisung hung up after making a kissy sound, which made Minho’s stomach churn a bit.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous whenever Jisung did things like that with Hyunjin, but Minho was a grown man and he wouldn’t let his childish jealousy get in the way of his friendship with either of the fiancés. Why would he even feel jealous when both of them were his friends?

The possibility of Seungmin being right about his feelings was getting higher and higher and Minho was a bit afraid of that. _Maybe I’ll get over it. Maybe it’s just temporary. I will_ not _break up a marriage— I will_ not _break up a friendship like that._

“Okay, this is my stop, prepared to run? It’s quite a bit.” Minho already held his jacket above his head as the bus came to a stop and Jisung took his arm, holding his own jacket above his head with the other arm before sighing and nodding.

Minho noticed Jisung was pretty fast, he wasn’t struggling to keep up at all, despite his complaining, but Minho had more stamina. They arrived at his building pretty soaked and once inside they wrung out their jackets on the stone floor of the entrance.

Jisung shook his hair dry like a dog and Minho laughed at how his hair stuck out in all directions after. Then he took them to the elevator to go to his and Seungmin’s apartment. Seungmin probably wasn’t home yet, he always worked pretty late on Sundays.

“Wow, your building has an elevator. I’m jealous.” Jisung said as Minho pressed the button of their floor.

“Yeah, Seungmin makes pretty good money. It’s a shame he doesn’t like his job very much.” 

Jisung was quiet after that, he probably didn’t want to ask any intruding questions when Seungmin wasn’t here. They silently made their way to the apartment and after Jisung was done admiring the spacious living room and kitchen, Minho got them both a towel.

“You need a change of clothes as well?” That wasn’t a weird thing to ask, right? It was rude to leave your guest in their soaked clothes while you got into new and dry clothes—

A loud bang interrupted his thoughts and he flinched. Jisung laughed at him.

“Didn’t you see the flash of lightning? You could’ve expected it.” The younger grinned, his cheeks cutely squishing his eyes up.

“I did, but still, it’s loud!” Minho defended himself.

“Uhm, to answer your question— I do have my dance clothes, but they are a bit sweaty and maybe they got wet as well, so…”

“Okay, I’ll go see if I have anything your size— Well, you are always wearing oversized shirts, so I guess a size too big is okay?” 

Minho walked into his bedroom and looked through the closet while drying his hair and stripping himself. It had to be something from himself, Seungmin’s clothes would fit even less, right? At least Minho was close to Jisung’s height, although he was broader than the younger by quite a bit.

He first redressed himself and then he picked a simple white shirt and a pair of sweats that were a little tight on him, so he hoped they would fit Jisung. He also brought a pair of socks and contemplated bringing a fresh pair of boxers, but he quickly pushed the thought away. _No that’s weird._

He got back into the living room and saw Jisung standing in front of one of the floor to ceiling windows, watching the rain while drying his hair. Minho let himself stare for a bit at the pretty side profile of the dark-haired boy. He made sure not to stare for too long, Jisung probably wanted to change.

“I got you some clothes. You can change in our bedroom or in the bathroom if you want.” He held out the pile of clothing to Jisung, who took it with a grateful smile. “I’ll make us some tea in the meantime.” 

While Jisung made his way to the bedroom— Minho realized he probably didn’t know where the bathroom was— Minho got to the kitchen and filled the kettle with water. As he waited for it to boil, he took a deep breath and thought about the situation.

_I could take Jisung home by car— No, Seungmin has the car, right? Or not? No wait, we don’t have the car here. Jesus how long have you been living here, Minho?! Hyunjin is coming to pick him up, let’s leave it at that._

Minho grabbed two mugs from a cabinet and filled them with boiling water. He then sighed. _I miss my cats… They would like Jisung…_

He heard a door opening and when he saw Jisung, he had to stop himself from blushing at the sight of the boy wearing _his_ clothes. The boy had also managed to tame his hair.

“Why didn’t you tell me I looked like a hedgehog!?” Was the first thing the boy said as he came over to the kitchen, gesturing at his hair.

“Because it was cute.” Minho blurted out. Well, it was the truth. He giggled as he saw Jisung’s cheeks become a fiery red.

“I doubt it was.” He murmured, avoiding Minho’s eyes. 

“Here’s your tea, Han Jisung.” Minho handed him his mug, and _of course_ their hands brushed as Jisung took it. 

Gosh, Minho hadn’t expected his life to turn into some kind of drama as soon as he moved to a new city, but it began to feel like one more and more.

First having an arranged marriage because of business reasons and then falling for the barista you get along with unusually well, who happened to be in an unconventional marriage as well. And then fate would have it that he came to work with the fiancé of said barista.

And now said barista was in _his_ apartment, wearing _his_ clothes, after he had seen the boy at his most vulnerable and he had somehow managed to calm him down. He didn’t want to call it intimate, but he didn’t know any other word to describe the situation.

“Hey, Minho.” Minho looked up to see Jisung look back at him with a pretty neutral expression. “Why do you sometimes call me by my full name?”

That wasn’t a question he was particularly expecting, he didn’t really think about why he did that. “Well— at first it was because I didn’t know you very well and your full name was on your name tag, so I just called you that. And— I guess it stuck a bit.”

“Okay, I thought maybe you didn’t think we were close—”

“That’s absolutely ridiculous—!”

“I know! I’m kidding! I figured you just liked calling me that to pretend we weren’t close, like sarcasm, or something, but today you called me ‘Sungie’, so it’s good to know you’re finally accepting we’re close friends.” Jisung grinned at Minho and it was a miracle he didn’t grab his hand right in that moment.

“I just did that to calm you down.” He teased back.

“Aw, come on, you can call me Sungie, it’s okay. Ji is fine as well.” 

“What if I call you—” Minho quickly thought of a different nickname he could make with the name Han Jisung. “—Hannie?”

Jisung laughed at that. “That’s okay too. Then I’ll call you…”

He looked up in thought. “Lee— Leeho? Leem… Lino? Sounds a bit like Minho, right?”

“Okay, but you have to spell it like L-E-E K-N-O-W then, because that’s cool.” Minho was flattered that Jisung came up with a special nickname for him as well, because even though Lee Minho was a pretty common name, there weren’t many nicknames you could make with it, especially when he was engaged to a ‘Min’ already.

“Fine with me, Lee Know.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is another continuation of today!!


	11. You can come closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It's okay, you can hold my arm, else you'll get wet.” Hyunjin offered him a polite smile and hoped Seungmin wasn't spooked by his forwardness. Hyunjin kinda trusted Seungmin, Jisung had told good stories about him, so it couldn't hurt to be nice to him for no particular reason, right? 
> 
> “Oh, you're quite the gentleman?” Seungmin quirked an eyebrow at him and Hyunjin let out a laugh. “You offer every acquaintance to hold your arm under your umbrella?” 
> 
> “No! Of course not. You're not just an acquaintance, though. You're the fiancé of my boss slash the good friend of my fiancé slash the fiancé of the good friend of my fiancé who helped said fiancé today. That's different.” Hyunjin illustrated what he meant with his free hand, although he wasn't sure if it would help the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> continuation of the events at minho's apartment! hyunjin runs into someone familiar on his way to pick up jisung
> 
> anyway more sweet and soft content... ^^
> 
> enjoooooyyy

Just as they finished their tea the it was beginning to clear up, only light rain trickling against the windows and Jisung got a text that Hyunjin was on his way, insisting to meet Jisung at the house, because he had brought an umbrella. Minho was glad for that, because that meant he could spent some more time with Jisung.

“You can keep those clothes, by the way. I don’t need them.” They were sitting together on the couch, just talking until Hyunjin would come back.

“Really? You sure?” Jisung asked as Minho nodded and he stretched himself out, yawning. “Jeez, I’m beat.”

The younger looked to the side at Minho, eyeing his shoulder, thinking about something. 

“You want to lean on my shoulder? You can.” Minho offered, but Jisung shook his head.

“I’ll fall asleep if I do that… Although…” A pause fell. “If you keep talking I may be fine.”

And when Jisung laid his head on Minho’s shoulder, a bittersweet feeling filled the older’s chest. A painful longing mixed with content. He wondered for just a second if there was really no way they could be together and he felt incredibly selfish for thinking that way.

But he couldn’t help the way butterflies filled his stomach at times like these, he also couldn’t help thinking of what could be. It was so selfish because he liked Hyunjin and it would be too cruel to shoot his shot with someone who was taken, Hyunjin would certainly  _ hate _ him. 

He would also certainly have to call of his engagement to Seungmin, which was unfair to the boy who had helped him so much throughout his life, the least he could do was return the favour and help him get his parents off his back.

And lastly there was again the problem that Jisung was in a relationship, there was no way Jisung returned his feelings, even though it was a relationship he couldn’t leave without leaving his best friend basically homeless, there was no reason for Minho to believe they weren’t happy together.

“Yo! Minho! What happened to talking!” Jisung spoke up.

“About what?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

A very selfish question burned on the tip of Minho’s tongue,  _ are you happy with Hyunjin? _ But he shouldn’t ask, it was rude and so so selfish. He tried thinking of something else to talk about and then he remembered that Jisung made music, but he had never heard anything he made.

“Why don’t you let me hear a song you’ve made?” He let his head fall to the side for a bit, letting his cheek bounce on the top of Jisung’s head before returning to his previous position.

“Do I have to do all the work?” Jisung huffed as he patted his pant-pockets. “Oh wait, these aren’t my pants. Uhm— my phone is in my bag, but if you can get out your phone and search for the artist—”

“I don’t want to hear another artist sing it, though. I want to hear what you’ve made for yourself.” Minho interrupted the younger who lifted his head off of his shoulder to look at him. “You like singing yourself too, don’t you?” 

“Uhh…” Jisung looked a bit unsure and Minho was afraid he was asking too much. “I guess I can sing a bit, but— Don’t look at me while I sing, please— Do you happen to have an acoustic guitar?”

“You play guitar?!”  _ Can he do  _ everything _?! _

“Yes, haha, it’s handy for composing sometimes. And— I was kinda a bit of a sap in college, you know? Writing cringy songs about my feelings to play on the guitar, haha! I actually also had an emo edgy teenager period in middle school where I wrote raps with a  _ lot _ — and I mean  _ a lot _ — of swear words in it.” 

Minho laughed as he imagined an angsty teenage Jisung, writing raps full of profanities. It was funny, he should ask for a picture one time— but not now, he should ask Jisung to hurry up and sing before Minho starts to imagine sappy college Jisung with a guitar.

“Go ahead and sing! And— I’ll have to hear some of those angsty raps too one time. I’ll also need prove that you can really play the guitar.” 

“You’re  _ not _ hearing my cringy—”

“Sing, please.” Minho gestured with his hand for Jisung to ‘take the stage’, which meant Jisung turned slightly away from Minho on the couch, so that Minho just couldn’t see his eyes anymore. He noticed the tips of Jisung’s ears were red.

Then he began singing. 

_ I washed my tired body _

_ And turned on the boring TV again _

_ The dull news is going on and on _

_ About something again today _

His voice was soft and beautiful. Minho forgot where he was for a second.

_ What was most important to do? _

_ There was so much I wanted to do _

_ But I kept being chased by time _

He tried to imagine what the song would sound like with a guitar and he thought it would fit well, but his musical imagination wasn’t good enough for him to imagine anything clearly. All the more reason for him to hear the song again with Jisung playing the guitar.

_ There are so many places in this world _

_ But I can’t find a place _

_ To rest comfortably anywhere near me _

There he stopped and Minho could only stare in awe. Hesitantly Jisung turned around to look at the older’s face.

“I wrote this about the hardships of everyday life, this is from when I was in college. Chan actually helped me a bit with composing.” He explained. It was silent for a bit, while Minho waited for himself to regain his ability to form words.

“You sing so well! I loved it! I need to hear the whole song one time, with you playing the guitar!” Minho playfully hit the younger, who exaggeratedly fell down on the couch, grabbing his arm.

“Ow!! The pain! It’s unbear—”

He was interrupted by the front door opening.

“Hi, guys. Look who I brought!” 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Hyunjin was vibrating in his seat in the subway. He was  _ so _ thankful for Jisung being safe, with Minho. It eased the guilt he felt for not holding onto Jisung more tightly. 

When he had stepped out of the carriage some people pushing to get in or to get out more quickly had made him lose his balance and he had let go of Jisung's arm involuntarily as he fell. Some random strangers pulled him up because he was in the way, taking him with them according to the current of the people sea. 

He turned around and called for Jisung, tried to go back towards the subway carriage, but it was impossible to get there in time. The subway had left and no sign of Jisung. He hadn't left the station until Jisung had called him back and told him what had happened. 

Now he was on his way to Minho and Seungmin's apartment and he checked which bus he had to take again before leaving the station. It was pretty quiet now, he was the only one waiting for the bus. Hyunjin hoped he hadn’t missed the previous bus by a minute or something.

“Hyunjin?” He heard a slightly familiar voice call his name, but he couldn’t quite place it. He turned to see the puppy-like fiancé of Minho, Seungmin.

“Seungmin! You’re going home? This late?” Hyunjin saw that the boy was wearing a suit, like he was also wearing the two times he had seen him at the coffee shop. The shoulders were slightly wet, he probably didn’t have an umbrella.

“Yup, gotta love working on Sundays. No one wants it, so the ones who do work have a lot to do.” Seungmin shrugged. “What are you doing here? Visiting Minho?”

“Uhh, yeah, sort of. You know how I had practice with Minho today?” Seungmin nodded. “Jisung came to watch and he also danced with Minho. I filmed them, by the way, if you’re interested, it was a fun time— Anyway! We went home together, but it was very busy and— Well— Jisung and I kinda ended up losing sight of each other and now Jisung is at your apartment.”

Seungmin frowned. “Wait— I don’t follow, how did Jisung end up at our apartment? Did he accidentally get out a stop too late or early?”

“No, that’s not how it went exactly— Uhm, Jisung has bad anxiety in crowds, you see, and we were both pushed around as we got out at our stop and he panicked and Minho saw that, so he pulled him back into the carriage and managed to calm him down. They then went to your apartment until rush hour would pass and the weather would clear up a bit.” Hyunjin looked up to see the sky was still grey and it was still raining.

“Oh… I’m sorry.” 

“What? Why are you apologizing?” Hyunjin genuinely didn’t understand why the boy was apologizing.

“I— I don’t know, I guess I’m sorry that I didn’t know about Jisung?” Seungmin said with a bit of an uneasy look on his face. “Did Minho know?”

“I don’t know. I’d think you’d know as well, if Minho knew, but Jisung could’ve also told him at today's practice, I guess.” Hyunjin wondered why Jisung would tell Minho at the studio, though. Maybe because he was nervous around the other dancers? 

“Could be, but Minho's pretty observant and caring. He says he cares more about animals than humans, but he can care a lot about humans as well, although he doesn't like to show it. He cares a lot about Jisung, from what I've seen.” Seungmin said as the bus arrived. Hyunjin nodded and a small smile tugged at his lips. 

“Yeah, well it's hard not to care about Jisung.” 

They stepped into the vehicle, holding their cards in front of the check-in machine. They sat opposite each other and Seungmin looked like he wanted to say something. 

“What is it?” Hyunjin tilted his head in question. 

“Uhh, nothing. Can I see the video of Jisung and Minho dancing?” Seungmin asked and Hyunjin pulled out his phone and earphones. He patted the seat next to him, he wanted to see the video again as well. 

The brown-haired boy complied and switched seats to sit next to him and took the earphone offered to him. The boy was slightly wiggling his legs and it was pretty funny to see someone in a full suit sit like that. Hyunjin grinned to himself as he pressed play and Jisung and Minho began dancing on the screen. 

Hyunjin couldn't help but watch the boy next to him as he watched the video, his eyes widening at some parts, fully concentrated on the screen. He let out a small 'woah' as the video ended and Hyunjin wanted to coo at the cute boy, childlike, but in a professional outfit. 

“Nice, huh? Jisung's pretty good, but Minho is obviously a great teacher that he managed to teach him that in only a couple of hours. They seem to be having fun as well.” Hyunjin smiled as he put his phone away. “It makes me wanna dance with them. Do you ever dance with Minho?” 

“No— Actually, I haven't seen Minho dance a full choreography like that in a pretty long time.” Seungmin's eyes were still a little big. Hyunjin tilted his head again, prompting the other to continue. 

“I mean dance without the intention of teaching someone or trying out a choreography he made for others.” Seungmin clarified. Hyunjin was kind of shocked, hearing this, Minho had seemed to be having so much fun dancing. 

“He never suggests dancing with you? Not even for fun?” Hyunjin danced for fun with Jisung often when they'd listen to music together, or with their friends. 

“Uhm, he does and we do dance for fun sometimes, but it's just been a long time since he danced a choreography of his own for fun. With someone else nonetheless.” Seungmin seemed surprised on one hand, but on the other hand he seemed to have expected it. 

“That's good to see, right? Jisung and Minho get along well.”

“Yeah, it's good— Ah! This is our stop.” Seungmin stood up and motioned Hyunjin to come with him. 

Hyunjin quickly grabbed his umbrella and opened it as soon as they got off, pulling Seungmin under it with him. The brown-haired boy stumbled a bit and grabbed Hyunjin's arm to steady himself before immediately letting go again. 

“Sorry!” 

“It's okay, you can hold my arm, else you'll get wet.” Hyunjin offered him a polite smile and hoped Seungmin wasn't spooked by his forwardness. Hyunjin kinda trusted Seungmin, Jisung had told good stories about him, so it couldn't hurt to be nice to him for no particular reason, right? 

“Oh, you're quite the gentleman?” Seungmin quirked an eyebrow at him and Hyunjin let out a laugh. “You offer every acquaintance to hold your arm under your umbrella?” 

“No! Of course not. You're not just an acquaintance, though. You're the fiancé of my boss slash the good friend of my fiancé slash the fiancé of the good friend of my fiancé who helped said fiancé today. That's different.” Hyunjin illustrated what he meant with his free hand, although he wasn't sure if it would help the other. 

Seungmin barked out a laugh, bringing his hand in front of his mouth. Hyunjin was glad he could make Seungmin laugh, he had a nice laugh and it was interesting to see the juxtaposition of his professional demeanor and some childlike traits he showed now. 

He was kind of curious about what other traits he had, Jisung had said Seungmin was a lawyer but liked singing and baseball and didn't really care for his job, because he had strict parents, so Hyunjin had painted a different picture of Seungmin in his head before he met him. Seungmin was kind of similar to how Hyunjin had imagined him, but also totally different if you'd pay attention like Hyunjin had done today. 

They arrived at Seungmin’s apartment building which looked like it had apartments worth about ten to a hundred times what Hyunjin could afford. Seungmin was the same age as him but lived pretty differently, he looked like he was way more ahead in life. 

“It’s a nice building.” Hyunjin commented as they got into the elevator.

“Yeah, it is.” Seungmin mumbled a bit sadly for some reason.

“Huh? What is it?” 

“I guess I feel kind of bad— or, like, guilty, being able to afford this because of my parents while I’m not even passionate about what I do and you  _ are _ passionate about dancing but you’re sort of struggling to get by, you know? It feels a bit unfair.” Seungmin sighed and Hyunjin thought it was sweet of him to think Hyunjin deserved better, but that was just life.

“But you studied for your job, right? Even though you may not be passionate about being a lawyer, you worked hard to become one, so you don’t have to feel guilty.” Hyunjin patted the other’s shoulder as they got out of the elevator and made their way to the apartment.

Seungmin put the key in the lock and opened the door. “Hi, guys. Look who I brought!” 

They saw Minho and Jisung sitting on the couch, Jisung was holding his arm while almost lying down. Minho was smiling so it seemed everything was okay. 

“Jisung!! I’m so glad you’re okay!” Hyunjin ran over to the couch to embrace the smaller in his arms. “Thank you so much for helping him, Minho!”

“No problem, I’m just glad I was able to, because Jisung only told me about his anxiety this morning… and he told me what I could do to help as well, so I just did that.” Minho was being a bit shy about it, but Hyunjin thought there was no need for that.

“You say it like it’s no big deal, but the first time Jisung had a panic attack when I was there, I panicked as well and that didn’t help at all, luckily Chan was better at keeping his calm.” Hyunjin didn’t like thinking about those times. He was weak of heart himself so it was hard for him to stay calm while seeing Jisung panic, but he had slowly but surely got the hang of it.

“Minho’s pretty good at staying calm, yeah.” Seungmin said as he untied his tie and shrugged of his suit jacket. 

“I thanked you a lot already, but I’ll thank you one more time—” Jisung stood up from the couch.

“Stop thanking me! It’s okay!” Minho hid his ears behind his hands and Jisung patted one of his hands.

“Thankyouforyourclothestoo!” Jisung said at lightspeed, his face close to Minho’s ears, the latter letting out a yell, but too late to interrupt . Hyunjin saw he was wearing unfamiliar clothes indeed, they had probably gotten pretty wet by the rain. 

“I guess we’ll go home, then. See you guys soon! We should definitely go on a double date once, by the way!” Hyunjin thought that would be fun.

“Have a safe trip, thank you for letting me under your umbrella by the way!” Seungmin waved at them. 

“No problem!”

“See you guys later!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally some real seungjin interaction!!


	12. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh my gosh!”
> 
> “W—What?” The freckled boy stuttered and Jeongin didn’t see that his cheeks were slightly pink from the way he was being watched. Jeongin leaned forward to hold Felix’s wrist and examine the short fingers.
> 
> “Tiny hand!!” He slowly pushed the other’s fingers straight so he could compare their hands. Jeongin’s fingers were a whole phalanx longer than Felix’s and he bent them to show it off. “So tiny!”
> 
> “Holy shit.” Felix breathed. “I didn’t know my hands were this small!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jeonglix chapter!! yay!
> 
> (and some planning for a double date...)
> 
> enjoooyyy

There he stood, checking if he was at the right number for the twentieth time, his phone almost slipping out of his sweaty hands.  _ Number 915, this is right. Now knock, you idiot! _

Jeongin lifted a hand before quickly letting it fall beside him again.  _ What if someone else opens the door?!  _ He shook his head and took his phone out of his pocket again fingers typing away. If he’d just pretend as if he had just arrived then Felix might not notice he was nervous as heck.

_ ‘Hey Felix, I’m just approaching your front door!’  _ Jeongin pressed ‘send’ and took a couple of steps back, away from the front door. As Felix opened the door and stuck his beautiful head out Jeongin began chipperly walking to the door again. The freckled boy waved at him cutely.

“Come in! Sorry for the mess— But that kind of comes with living with roommates I guess. I should find something for myself some day…” Felix guided Jeongin into the apartment. “You want something to drink?”

Jeongin nodded and followed Felix to the kitchen where he asked for just some water, he didn’t think getting sugar into his system would help his nerves. He also thought he shouldn’t be nervous, since this was just a friendly hangout, but he couldn’t help the giddiness he felt around Felix.

The freckled boy poured himself some water as well and they went to his room. It was a typical room, Jeongin thought, except for the big monitors— yes, plural— on his desk. His eyes went big. 

“Woah! That’s so cool! How did you afford this?” Jeongin ran over to the desk and inspected the setup, moving his head to look at it from every angle. “I just realized I don’t even know if you have a job! Are you rich like Seungmin or something?”

Felix chuckled and came over to the desk. “No! No. I saved up. At first I just did a lot of simple jobs, like washing cars or stocking shelves in the supermarket, but then I started searching up online how to code and stuff and I’m taking online courses now for which my parents are sweet enough to pay, but I’m also making money sometimes with making plugins and mods for games and stuff.”

“Oh my gosh! You have to show me some things! I kinda feel like a noob now, though.” Jeongin scratched his head, a bit flustered. He wasn’t an avid gamer at all, he just liked playing games with his friends usually. He also didn’t know shit about coding, but hell, he’d learn if it meant he could talk about it with Felix.

“That’s okay! I didn’t ask you over for me to flex on you with my out of control hobby! Let’s play something you think is fun.” The older squeezed his shoulder. “Do you want to play on PC or something else? I know a fun game that I’m not that good at either! Wait— Let me get an extra chair.” 

  
  


They went to play an adventure game together, which Jeongin had never seen before in his life, but Felix patiently explained the controls and objective of the game. Jeongin got the hang of it quite soon and he liked that they had to work together. 

They played in amicable silence at first, but as the game got more and more stressful they became louder. 

“There! There! Get the treasure on your left!” Felix exclaimed while he kept some big spiders from dealing damage to Jeongin's character. 

“I got a crossbow!!” Now he could finally shoot the ceiling to get the key to the next stage. 

“Nice going, Innie!” 

Jeongin let his gaze wander to his side for a bit and seeing how the blonde excitedly smashed the keys of the keyboard made his heart swell.  _ He's so cute… I should focus on the game again, though.  _

He turned back to face the monitor. “Okay, final stage, let's go!” 

The final stage was significantly harder than the previous stages, but Jeongin's crossbow was of great value. They died about three times before they managed to defeat that ugly octopus of a final boss. 

“Take that you eight-armed creep!!” Jeongin yelled. “Yes Felix get him!!” 

“I got him! I got him!! Yes!” Felix hit the final blow and Jeongin turned to high five him. When Felix leaned forward to hug him after Jeongin thought he was going to implode. 

“That was awesome, you're pretty good, Innie.” 

“I think you mean  _ you _ carried me this entire game so I seemed pretty good.”

Felix rolled his eyes, but a smile was painted on his face. “Pfft… As if. If you want me to show off we can play this shooter game?” 

The boy wiggled his eyebrows, showing a toothy grin.  _ He wants to show off to me? Oh gosh, what does that imply?!  _

“Sure.” Jeongin wasn't particularly good at shooters, but you couldn't expect him to say no to Felix! 

And indeed he was obliterated by the older round after round after round, and if he wasn't playing with a friend, he would be frustrated out of his mind. Felix, however, was so overpowered that it was funny and Jeongin couldn't hold back laughter every time he lost.

Jeongin's goal was now to lose after as long as possible, instead of to try and win from the blonde. He tried to find the best hiding spots and move around a lot, but Felix still caught him every time. 

“Ah, sorry, this isn't really fun for you, huh? But in my defense, you agreed to let me show off!” Felix chuckled as he shot Jeongin's character in the head with perfect accuracy, even though Jeongin thought his character was out of sight and shot. 

“It's okay! I'm laughing, Lix. It's pretty funny how bad I am and how incredibly OP you are.” He grinned. “Although, I did bring my Switch, so we could always play some Mario Kart or Animal Crossing.”

“You play AC too?! What's your friend code?” 

They seated themselves on the bed, both of them a Switch in hand, and started up their game. 

“Who’s your favourite villager on your island?” Felix asked as he accepted Jeongin’s friend request.

“Ooh, uhm… There are a lot of cute ones, but I’m pretty proud that I have Marshall on my island!” Jeongin said.

“YOU HAVE JISUNG?!” Felix exclaimed.

“What?!” Jeongin’s eyes went big,  _ Jisung? _

“Yeah! A small cute squirrel! If Jisung was blond, then they would be indistinguishable!” Felix giggled. Jeongin thought for a bit, he guessed Jisung did look like a squirrel.

“Woah, you’re right!”

  
  


Felix fetched some chips to share while playing and after taking each other on an island tour and showing off their villagers, they began talking about other stuff. 

“How long have you been a regular at the coffee shop, by the way?” Jeongin asked as he chased a balloon that was getting dangerously close to the sea. 

“Since Chan opened it.” Felix answered, popping a chip into his mouth. 

“Oh, right, you guys are good friends, I forgot for a second.” Jeongin mentally slapped himself for forgetting such a thing. He tried to divert attention from that by joking a bit. “Does this mean you’re in on all the gossip?”

“What do you mean?” Felix seemed genuinely confused by Jeongin’s vague question.

“I mean you probably know a lot more about my coworkers and the other two regulars than I do. Did you know that Jisung and Hyunjin are engaged?” Jeongin said as he reached for the bag of chips simultaneously with Felix. Their hands brushed and both pulled away, but Jeongin faltered a bit as he saw Felix’s hand.  _ It’s tiny! _

“Oh my gosh!”

“W—What?” The freckled boy stuttered and Jeongin didn’t see that his cheeks were slightly pink from the way he was being watched. Jeongin leaned forward to hold Felix’s wrist and examine the short fingers.

“Tiny hand!!” He slowly pushed the other’s fingers straight so he could compare their hands. Jeongin’s fingers were a whole phalanx longer than Felix’s and he bent them to show it off. “So tiny!”

“Holy shit.” Felix breathed. “I didn’t know my hands were this small! Yours are pretty big though.”

It was silent for a minute, but then the blonde shook his head and removed his hand from where it was still placed against Jeongin’s. “Yeah! I knew about Jisung and Hyunjin, crazy, huh?”

“Yeah! But he didn’t tell me about the whole thing until yesterday! Which— Which I get, but still! I almost accused him of cheating because I didn’t know, and he was being vague.” Jeongin felt embarrassed thinking back at that.

“You did what?! Why did you think that?” Felix mouth formed an ‘o’ as he looked at Jeongin with an exaggerated shocked look.

“He said he had Minho— your cousin’s number, but not Seungmin’s and since they always come to the coffee shop together I thought there was something going on maybe. I knew he had a boyfriend but you never know, you know? I didn’t know they were engaged!” Jeongin leaned back on the bed, was it bad that they were kind of gossiping? Well, you couldn’t blame them for working with people who had pretty interesting lives like that.

“Oh, yeah, well, Jisung and Hyunjin seem happy together I think?” Felix looked up to the ceiling in thought. 

“Wait— Why are you saying it like that? Do you also think there’s something going on? Well— I don’t necessarily think that because I’ve only seen Hyunjin like two times, but…” Jeongin repositioned himself on his knees, facing the older.

“No! I don’t think that! As I said, Jisung and Hyunjin seem happy together.” There was a ‘but’ coming, Jeongin could feel it. “But… Jisung and Minho got pretty close in a short amount of time, so I understand why you could be confused.”

Jeongin nodded and they left the subject to play some more games instead. Felix showed him some of his coding as well and it could as well be a foreign language to him, so he asked the boy to explain some of it to him, which he gladly did.

They day ended way too soon but at least Felix walked him to the bus stop at the end. He had felt like he had gotten to know the boy a bit better today, had seen him in his natural surroundings, and perhaps had fallen even more for the angel. 

“Thank you for coming by today! Next time I’ll visit you.” The blonde spread his arms wide and Jeongin’s stomach flipped in anticipation of a next time. “Goodbye hug?” 

Jeongin nodded and smiled widely as he let Felix take him into a tight hug. “See you tomorrow?” 

“Yes!”

“Okay! Byebye, Lix!”

They waved each other goodbye and Jeongin let himself plop on a seat, hands clutched at his chest, a goofy grin on his face.  _ Monday mornings aren’t that bad to think about if I know that he will come visit. _

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Seungmin whispered to his fiancé as Hyunjin and Jisung hugged each other goodbye. “To invite them over to our house?”

“What? Why wouldn’t it be a good idea? Oh! Do you think we should invite over Jeongin and Felix and make it a triple date? I think Felix has his eyes on the new— well, not really new coworker. Or are you referring to that our apartment is a bad place? We have lots of space, I can cook something extravagant for once—” Seungmin hit Minho’s arm with his fist to make him stop talking. He was evading again.

“First of all, why do you never bother cooking something extravagant for me? Second and most important of all, I’m saying that maybe it’s better if we go somewhere public, since I have seen the way you and Jisung are starting to look at each other!” The younger flicked his eyes to the other engaged couple to check if they had heard him and when he saw they didn’t, he returned his gaze to the man in front of him.

“What! Jeez, Min! Why do you keep insisting there’s something going on between us! And besides, Jisung and Hyunjin are happy together and I also kind of promised myself to you. Nothing is going to happen.” Minho rolled his eyes and Seungmin bit the inside of his cheek. 

He wanted to believe that, but after seeing Minho dance with Jisung— seeing Jisung look at Minho through the mirror with stars in his eyes at the end of that video— and seeing how Minho talked about the younger, looked at him the way Seungmin and Minho had joked they would need to look at each other for a successful romantic marriage, Seungmin began to doubt if really nothing was going to happen.

Minho was a good man, he knew that, and Jisung as well, but if there really were mutual feelings between them, you’d never know what could happen. It wasn’t Seungmin’s business to tell them what to do and what not to do, but he felt bad for Hyunjin, he didn’t seem to notice anything off and he hoped Hyunjin wouldn’t get hurt if it were to get messy.

Of course he hoped nobody would get hurt, but still.

“Okay, I’m ready to go. Sorry for taking a while!” Hyunjin came over to them and smiled.

“It’s okay, we were just discussing a bit about the double date.” Minho wasn’t lying about that, strictly speaking.

“Oh! Nice, it’s going to be fun!” Hyunjin was such a sweet guy, Seungmin  _ really _ hoped he wouldn’t ever get hurt, he didn’t deserve that.

* * *

“Guys, I may be in big trouble…” Jisung sighed as he got back to work after saying goodbye to Hyunjin and the fiancés.

“What is it?” Chan was out of the kitchen, drying some mugs with a cloth. Changbin and Jeongin gathered around curiously as well, the people who had come to the shop for lunch were leaving one by one, so it had become pretty quiet.

“I think—” Jisung stopped for a moment, afraid that if he’d say it out loud it would become the truth. It maybe already was, but he kind of wanted to fool himself a little longer. There was no point in doing that, though, it would only hurt more if he did that.

His coworkers were silently waiting for him to continue and Jisung took a deep breath.

“I think my feelings for Hyunjin are fading.” He said in a whisper-tone, feeling a bit out of breath. Jeongin gasped softly and Chan took a sharp breath. “I— I don’t know what to do! I don’t know how to tell him! I also just agreed on going on a double date with Seungmin and Minho and— Gosh— What do I do?”

“First of all— calm down, don’t stress about it, things like this can happen.” Chan breathed in and out, prompting Jisung to copy him, which he did. He swallowed,  _ right, things like this can happen. _

“You guys are best friends, I’m sure he’ll understand.” Changbin squeezed his arm.

“And you can just ask to have a friendly hangout with Seungmin and Minho instead, right?” Jeongin added.

“Yes… I can…” He trailed off,  _ how should I word this? _

“But what?” Chan encouraged him to continue.

“But maybe I’m not ready to tell him yet, because— because I’m still figuring out my feelings— and if— if I may have feelings for… someone else…” The last part of his sentence almost didn’t make it out of his throat audibly, but from his coworkers’ reactions he got that they heard him.

“Minho—?” Jeongin began before he cut himself off. “Sorry!”

“As I said! Still figuring things out!” Jisung was a bit disappointed in himself that Jeongin had managed to figure out who it was immediately. “But— Yes— Minho… What do I do?”

“It’s hard to say since we don’t really know how sure you are of things… but telling Hyunjin the truth is always a good thing.” Chan’s lips formed a thoughtful pout.

“When’s the double date? Maybe you can use it to figure out your feelings and tell Hyunjin after?” Jeongin suggested.

“The double date is on Wednesday, because Seungmin doesn’t work on that day. Hyunjin even offered to come over while I’m still working to help them set things up! Wait— sorry— that’s not important— anyway, that may be a good idea, indeed, thanks guys.” Jisung pulled his friends into a hug that was unfortunately interrupted by a customer clearing their throat. 

They all got back to work and Jisung hoped his feelings would lean toward Hyunjin rather than Minho, but his gut told him the opposite was getting more and more likely.  _ It’ll work out. It has to. I can’t lose either one of them. _

  
  


When Jisung got home that night a bad feeling settled in his stomach as he was greeted by his clingy fiancé. He didn’t mind the clinginess, the hugs and kisses on his cheeks, but he couldn’t bring himself kiss Hyunjin back with the same passion as he once had done. 

He half blamed it on fatigue and his aching muscles, sore from dancing yesterday, and half on that perhaps his feelings really were fading.

“Are you okay?” Hyunjin asked as they snuggled on the couch. “You seem a bit distant.”

“I’m— I’m a bit tired. I don’t know how you deal with the soreness of your muscles after dancing a whole day!” He decided on not explicitly answering the question and changing the subject.

“If you stretch properly before and after it helps a lot.” Hyunjin answered seriously while caressing Jisung’s hair. “You want some muscle oil? I can help you with massaging the sore spots.”

“Uhm, well, okay. Thanks. Don’t yell at me when I fall asleep, though.” 

Hyunjin grinned and they made their way to the bathroom, not wanting the strongly scented oil to get in their bedsheets. Jisung seated himself on the toilet, the lid closed, after having rid himself of his jeans. He imagined that if it was a couple of days ago, Hyunjin massaging his legs while he was in his underwear would make his stomach clench for wholly different reasons.

Now it was just relaxing— It was also because he really was tired from work— but he couldn’t help but doze off as Hyunjin’s fingers digged into his calves, rubbing soothing circles after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jisung is marshall agenda! hope you enjoyed some soft jeonglix  
> aandd jisung having a realization....!


	13. Then what do you want?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Shut up. I just think it’s weird for you to call me a nickname Jisung gave me, I’m not too used to the name yet. I don’t understand why you’re pushing the ‘Minho is in love with Jisung’-agenda so much, I thought we were engaged?” Minho sighed and dramatically started examining his engagement ring. “Don’t you love me anymore?”
> 
> “I’m not pushing any agenda, I’m just trying to get you to accept your feelings.” Seungmin raised his eyebrows as he met Minho’s eyes.
> 
> “What feelings?”
> 
> “I’m serious, Minho.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2min has a serious conversation about certain things...

“There.” Minho stored the last ingredients for tomorrow away, all ready to make a nice meal for the four unconventionally engaged guys. Seungmin should be home any minute now, maybe he should think about cooking him a real meal someday, but not now. It was pretty late already, so he just cooked up some rice, kimchi and simple meat.

“Hi.” Seungmin greeted him as he came in and shuffled off his shoes. He then sniffed and looked over his shoulder to the kitchen. “You cooked already? For both of us?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Min.” Seungmin sighed as he sat down at the dining table. 

“Are you thanking yourself?” Minho teased, wiggling his eyebrows as he set dinner on the table. Seungmin scoffed a bit and rolled his eyes.

“Maybe I should start calling you Lino as well, then. So you won’t get confused again.” The boy in his suit said, picking at the food with his chopsticks. 

“That’s kinda weird, though…” Minho made a face at his fiancé, who chuckled.

“Why? Is that  _ Hannie _ ’s special nickname for you?” Seungmin popped a piece of meat into his mouth and grinned after successfully making Minho’s cheeks go red.

“Shut up. I just think it’s weird for you to call me a nickname Jisung gave me, I’m not too used to the name yet. I don’t understand why you’re pushing the  _ ‘Minho is in love with Jisung’ _ -agenda so much, I thought we were engaged?” Minho sighed and dramatically started examining his engagement ring. “Don’t you love me anymore?”

“I’m not pushing any agenda, I’m just trying to get you to accept your feelings.” Seungmin raised his eyebrows as he met Minho’s eyes.

“What feelings?”

“I’m serious, Minho.” 

Minho sighed, Seungmin and his seriousness was annoying sometimes. He supposed he could annoy his fiancé for a little longer by being evasive, but he was also not really in the mood for that.

“And what if I accept them? What then?” He stuffed some rice and kimchi into his mouth.

“Maybe you can be together.” Seungmin said and Minho whipped his head up to search for anything that implied he was joking, but he couldn’t find it.

“In what universe are you living that you seriously think that?” He gave his friend an unamused look.

“This one.” Seungmin shrugged. “You may not see it, but I think it’s not too far-fetched to think Jisung is interested in you as well.”

“That is absolute nonsense, Seungmin, I thought you were smart. Jisung is literally taken. And— Even  _ if _ he magically returns my feelings, I’m not ruining two friendships.” Minho couldn’t believe he was being the rational one here, while he was the one with feelings for someone who was taken, even engaged. He really didn’t need his fiancé encouraging him to be unfaithful.

“I’m not telling you to make him cheat on Hyunjin! The last thing I want is for someone to get hurt.” 

“Then what do you want?”

“I don’t  _ want  _ anything, I’m just saying that you should accept your feelings for Jisung and that if you get the opportunity, which is not that unlikely since I suspect Jisung might have feelings for you as well and thus he might have a friendly break-up with his best friend, so if the opportunity arises, you could be together.” 

Minho took a minute to process the heavy sentence Seungmin just dropped on him,  _ if the opportunity arises we could be together?  _ His heart ached in want, that would honestly be the best case scenario: Jisung returns his feelings and he and Hyunjin go apart as friends, no hard feelings between any of them, and they get to be together… 

But that couldn’t be. 

Minho shook his head. “That sounds great and all, but, even if that opportunity arises, I’m still engaged to you, your parents are expecting a wedding.”

“So? I don't mind. You don't have to be faithful to me, we're not getting married because we're in love or something.” Seungmin kept his eyes on his food as he spoke, prodding against a piece of kimchi. 

“I know, but just— there are a lot of other reasons that it feels wrong. Dating while I'm engaged to someone else.” Minho shoved another piece of meat into his mouth.  _ In what kind of world is Seungmin living, imagining these kinds of scenarios— no— he's even suggesting the possibility of them becoming reality! And what am I doing, talking with him about a ridiculous fantasy like that…  _

“Please elaborate.” Seungmin still wanted to hear more apparently. 

“Why should I elaborate? Jisung is taken and likes me only as a friend. End of conversation, Seungmin.” Minho was getting kind of irritated. 

“Please elaborate, it is important in case you want to date in general, not necessarily Jisung.” Seungmin insisted on continuing the pointless conversation. 

“I won't want that because it's wrong.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm engaged to you.”

“Answer the damn question, Minho!” Seungmin raised his voice and almost slammed his chopsticks down. Minho winced, but he guessed he had it coming. The younger took a deep breath. 

“Sorry. I'm tired from work and you're getting on my nerves. I'm asking this for  _ your  _ sake, okay?” Minho saw Seungmin was genuinely sorry and he felt a bit bad for being a little shit. He wanted to answer the question, but the taller was quicker. “I don't want to fight.”

“I know. I'm sorry too. Just— What if your parents find out I'm dating someone else? They won't like that and I don't want you to get in trouble with them because of me. It won’t exactly be good for either of us if the public finds out I’m ‘cheating’ on you. I mean— I’m not that famous but people gossip, you know? Especially your family.” 

Minho really wasn't planning on having a heart to heart talk with Seungmin tonight, but he guessed it was too late to turn back now. “But that’s not even the most important thing. I promised you to help you get them off your back, I promised to marry you precisely because I gave up on dating!” 

“Yes, but I know you did that because you were tired of people in our city taking advantage of you and your increasing fame. This is a new city and the only people who know you are dancers.” Seungmin made good points, but he didn't mention his parents or his family. “Jisung didn't even know you were a choreographer until he was already too deep into your friendship. He forgot to ask you about it so easily as you two talked about everything and anything.”

“I know. I know that— that's why I changed my mind— No, wait, I didn't. I still don't want to date.”  _ However much I long for what could be, I can't. It's wrong god damnit! How many times do I have to repeat it for people to believe me? _

“You haven't said anything about your parents. Your career! And— there's also the thing that what if Ji— the person I want to date— doesn't approve of me being married while dating? What if I, one day, want to marry someone after dating?” Minho summed up another couple of arguments as to why he shouldn't be dating. 

“Won't know until you try, right?” 

“Seungmin, god damnit! Why are you so stubborn about this! Why do you want me to date that badly!” He honestly had enough, his patience was beginning to run out. He really didn't want to fight, he tried to remind himself that getting on each other's nerves was how they showed they cared about each other, but it was so frustrating! 

“Why are  _ you  _ so stubborn about  _ not  _ dating! I'm just trying to show you that there's a possibility that you can be happy with someone!” Seungmin was close to raising his voice again, Minho could feel it. 

“I can be happy as his friend! If you want to be a rebel to your parents, why don't you call off the wedding or something? Quit your job? Finally chase your dreams? It'll give me the opportunity to date as well! Win-win!” 

Seungmin stood up and picked up his plate. “You are  _ impossible  _ to talk to, huh?” 

The younger stomped away to the kitchen and Minho let out a frustrated groan.  _ I should apologize later… But it's not my fault for not wanting to think about what could be when it can't be. It also isn’t like he’s not evading certain subjects as well. _

He rubbed a hand along his face and he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.  _ ‘Hyunjin’s asking if he should bring something if he comes early tomorrow’, _ said a text from Jisung.

_ ‘I will not be accepting any help with dinner, so I don’t know’,  _ Minho texted back.

_ ‘What about some wine then?’ _

Minho looked up from his phone. “Minnie?” He called.

_ “Yes?”  _ It sounded from the bathroom.

“Should Hyunjin bring some wine tomorrow?” 

_ “Sure thing.” _

Minho returned his gaze to his phone.  _ ‘Sure thing!’ _ He thought about sending something else, but what?  _ ‘Don’t work too hard tomorrow, I’ll make sure to come harass you on your break as well’. _ That should do it.

_ ‘I’ll report you to the police for harassment then :)’ _

Minho couldn’t help but smile at the message on his phone. 

_ ‘Try me, Hannie ;)’.  _

_ ‘Better watch your back Lee Know.’ _

  
  


A while later Minho realized that, if Hyunjin comes early, Jisung may have to travel alone after work, around dinner time. He shot up and looked for his phone again.

“What is it?” Seungmin was sitting next to him on the couch, doing some work. Minho had sort of apologized already and the two of them never stayed mad at each other for too long. 

“Is Jisung coming here alone tomorrow? Because— What if…” He trailed off, thinking about what happened last time Jisung was traveling using public transport, and he hadn’t even been alone that time.

“I’m sure they’ve thought about it. But if it makes you feel better, just text him and ask.” Seungmin didn’t look up from his work,  _ why is this guy even still working? _ Minho shook his head and opened his chat with Jisung.

“You should stop working, it’s late, Min.”

“Almost done.” 

_ ‘Will you be coming by subway tomorrow? Alone?’ _

_ ‘No, Channie offered to drive me after work :)’ _

_ ‘Oh okay! Good’ _

_ ‘Were you worried about me, Lee Lee Know?’ _

_ ‘I was not, Han’ _

_ ‘It’s okay. I can take care of myself.’ _

_ ‘I didn’t mean it like that. I know you’re not fragile.’ _

_ ‘It’s kind of embarrassing to say, but I feel like I need to let you know that I asked for myself. I know you can take care of yourself but I needed to know for sure so that I wouldn’t worry.’ _

_ ‘That’s sweet, thank you.’ _

_ ‘I appreciate the concern, I get that you’re worried, it’s pretty scary. Sometimes people kind of treat me like I’m a child or something, though. That’s pretty annoying.’ _

_ ‘I know you won’t do that, though.’ _

_ ‘Of course not. And I’m sorry people are annoying. Cats are better.’ _

_ ‘When Will I Meet The Cats?!’ _

_ ‘They’re at my parents.... crying TT’ _

_ ‘Soonie, Doongie, Dori! I Will Meet You One Day!’ _

_ ‘I’m sure they can’t wait’ _

_ ‘I cannot see if you’re joking or not’ _

_ ‘You won’t know until you meet them’ _

_ ‘Gosh darn it’ _

_ ‘Do you have anything else to say? I’m getting kinda tired’ _

_ ‘One more thing’ _

_ ‘Can you tell Seungmin to stop working?’ _

_ ‘It’s getting pretty late’ _

_ ‘Oki doki’ _

_ ‘Seungmin you’ve worked all day! Stop working! It has been long enough!’ _

_ ‘Hyunjin thinks so too.’ _

_ ‘Thx’ _

_ ‘Good night Sungie’ _

_ ‘And Hyunjin’ _

_ ‘Good night!’ _

_ ‘From Hyunjin as well :)’ _

Minho kept looking at the messages for a little longer, until the heat in his cheeks faded a bit, before holding his phone in front of his fiancés face. “See? Jisung and Hyunjin think it’s time for you to stop as well.”

“I’m done! I’m done!” Seungmin held his hands up in defeat. “I was just about to stop.”

“Good.” Minho patted Seungmin’s head and the latter sighed as if he didn’t like it. 

“You feel better? Are you reassured?” Seungmin put his papers away and turned to look at Minho, crossing his legs on the couch.

“Yeah, Chan’ll drive him after work.” 

“Okay, good. Let’s go to bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2min couple on the brink of divorce...
> 
> next chapter double date!


	14. What's cooking, good looking?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, Minho, what are you going to make for us?” Hyunjin repeated Jisung’s question.
> 
> “Instant noodles, of course.” Minho said casually and Hyunjin almost believed him because of it.
> 
> “Oh, yummy.” Jisung deadpanned.
> 
> “Okay, sorry, I’m going to make macaroni and cheese of course.” 
> 
> Hyunjin thought he wasn’t serious again, but he wasn’t too sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part one of the double date!
> 
> enjooooyyyy

“So, what’re you going to cook for us tonight, Lino?” Jisung tilted his head in question as he sat down at the table. He then turned and raised his eyebrows at Jeongin. “Time to leave your lover and get back to work, Innie.”

Hyunjin grinned at the way Felix’s cheeks reddened and Jeongin pressed his lips together shyly. “Pfft, what are you saying?”

“Come on, Felix brought you brownies yesterday. Home made brownies!”

“Yes because he’s an angel! Bye!” Jeongin quickly made a run for it, hiding behind Changbin behind the counter.

“I’m not an angel…” Felix murmured. Then he stood up. “I’m going to check if they need any help! Bye!” 

The blonde also made a run for it, leaning over the counter to go talk to Jeongin and Changbin. It was cute.

“So, Minho, what are you going to make for us?” Hyunjin repeated Jisung’s question.

“Instant noodles, of course.” Minho said casually and Hyunjin almost believed him because of it.

“Oh, yummy.” Jisung deadpanned.

“Okay, sorry, I’m going to make macaroni and cheese of course.” 

Hyunjin thought he wasn’t serious again, but he wasn’t too sure. The looks that Seungmin and Jisung gave the older confirmed his thoughts. He guessed it was going to be a surprise.

“You know, Hyunjin’s pretty good at cooking as well. He makes good fried rice with egg.” Jisung grinned and Hyunjin rolled his eyes.

“I can make simple stuff. That’s it.” He said.

“It’s something! I’m always glad if Minho cooks something, even if it’s just rice and kimchi.” Seungmin shrugged casually, but Hyunjin appreciated what he said.

“I’ll be making something more extravagant than that tonight, though.” Minho smirked proudly.

They spoke a bit about nonsense after that, trying to stretch Jisung’s break as long as they could. Hyunjin hoped his fiancé wouldn’t be too tired tonight, he had been pretty tired lately, and a bit distant because of that. It didn’t seem too bad, though, luckily.

“Jisuuunnnggg…!” Changbin called over from behind the counter. “I’m hungry!”

“Ah, I guess that’s my cue to go back to work. I’ll see you guys tonight! Have fun preparing. I’m looking forward to taste your cooking, Min.” Jisung stood up and smiled at each one of them, giving Hyunjin a kiss on the top of his head.

“See you tonight, sweets.” The black-haired boy waved his fiancé goodbye and he left the shop together with Seungmin and Minho to make their way to their apartment. They took a seat in the subway and sat in silence for a bit.

“So, you and I are in charge of cleaning up and setting the table today, Hyunjin.” Seungmin broke the silence. “I mean, you want to help, right?”

“Yeah! It’s the least I can do since you guys are hosting.” Hyunjin felt grateful for the couple to host, but he also felt obligated to help out, since he had sort of suggested the double date. 

“We’re hosting actually means you  _ don’t _ have to help out, but the more the merrier, right?” Seungmin gave Hyunjin a sweet and warm smile. Minho elbowed the former, making Seungmin turn to him with a frown. “What?”

Minho just raised his eyebrows and gave him a pointed look. “What? Minho, if you don’t use words I won’t understand what you want.”

The older shrugged. “I think you understood, though. Anyway— You guys can have fun cleaning together, I won’t accept any help in the kitchen.”

Hyunjin wondered if Seungmin really had understood what Minho was saying with his eyebrows, but he guessed it was none of his business. It was a pretty short trip from the shop to the apartment, so he and Seungmin had quite some time to clean up at their own pace, while Minho started to clean the kitchen in preparation.

Seungmin gently told Hyunjin what he could help with and they cleaned a bit in silence at first. Hyunjin realized that this was the first time he had seen Seungmin not in a suit. He hadn’t seen Seungmin a lot of times, but everytime he saw him in a suit he had to remind himself the boy was younger than him. 

“Do you ever forget that you’re still in your early twenties?” Hyunjin blurted out.  _ Shit, is this rude to ask? _

“Hmm? You mean me? Or are you asking me if I relate to something you feel?” Seungmin looked up from where he was organizing some books and papers on a desk.

“Uhm… I’m sorry if I’m being rude, but I mean you.” Hyunjin mumbled, scratching his neck in light embarrassment. “I mean— because you’re a lawyer and I always see you wearing a suit and from what I hear you work a lot, like,  _ a lot _ , and I was just wondering if that doesn’t make you feel old sometimes. Because I feel like we are in such different stages of our lives, do you know what I mean? It seems like you’re  _ way _ ahead.”

He realized he was rambling.  _ Gosh you’re so awkward sometimes, ‘Jin. _ Seungmin just shrugged, he did that a lot. “Yeah, sometimes. I guess I’m also already engaged and— Well, I can blame my parents, but it’s not like I’m doing anything about it.”

“Sorry.” Hyunjin apologized without thinking.

“Why are you apologizing?” The boy stopped what he was doing to look straight at Hyunjin.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry I suggested you’d feel old, it’s not like you act like an old man! The opposite sometimes, actually— I mean— I guess I feel sorry for thinking you had your life together when you’re also still struggling with things.” Hyunjin said. “But—! But I’m not saying you’ve made the wrong decision by listening to your parents! I mean, I don’t know the circumstances— what situation you’re in and—”

“Hyunjin!” Seungmin laughed and Hyunjin felt heat creep up his neck to his ears. “It’s okay! I’m still struggling, yes. You’re not being rude! You’re being pretty thoughtful, actually.”

“Huh?” Hyunjin didn’t get that, he had been rambling, had been making an absolute fool out of himself. Seungmin didn’t clarify but just continued organizing and dusting with a small smile. “Seungmin? Why are you smiling? Is it because I’m making a fool out of myself?”

Seungmin barked out a laugh. 

“I should stop talking.”

Now Seungmin was almost cackling and Hyunjin felt himself become red as a tomato.  _ I am the biggest idiot in the universe, where did my freaking filter go? Just because I’m with Jisung’s friends doesn’t mean I should just talk without thinking. _

“No, it’s okay! I think it’s— uhm, funny— cute, maybe.” Seungmin chuckled and  _ that _ was cute. “I think it’s nice that you’re saying whatever comes to mind. It’s refreshing.”

Hyunjin held back a smile at that compliment, it was an unusual compliment, but he took every genuine compliment to heart.

“You know— I encounter a lot of people who are very careful and particular about what they say everyday, hell— my  _ job _ is to be careful with what I say and how I phrase it, in case it can be interpreted in different ways— in ways that are bad for me or a client. Minho also says weird things, but he sometimes intends for his words to be interpreted in different ways.” Seungmin told him and Hyunjin was a bit surprised to hear him explain the compliment. 

“So, it’s nice to talk to someone like you. I noticed pretty soon— it’s a bad habit of mine to look for lies— that you don’t have many things to hide, that you’re open and you’re not afraid to show yourself. It’s refreshing, it really is.” The boy continued and Hyunjin was kind of speechless. “Oh jeez, now  _ I’m  _ rambling, sorry.”

“No! It’s—” He stopped, unable to form the words to describe how he felt after those nice words. “That’s incredibly sweet of you to say and I honestly don’t know what to say except thank you for the compliment. I try my best in being myself, yeah. People sometimes think I’m naive for doing that, but it’s tiring to pretend to be someone I’m not. I just want to be me and do what I want, do what I’m passionate about, I don’t know how to do or be anything differently.”

“I guess I have a lot to learn from you.” Seungmin chuckled, but then pointed at Hyunjin with a stern expression. “But! Don’t let Minho know I said that! He will  _ not _ leave me alone about my parents if he finds out we had this conversation!”

Now Hyunjin chuckled. “I won’t, although I know Minho has good intentions. But you can take your time, figure out what you really want, how  _ you _ want the world to see you. It’s not done in a day.”

“No it’s not. Thanks, Hyunjin.” Seungmin smiled again and it was one of those smiles that made Hyunjin unable to imagine him being any older than twenty-three.

“Thank  _ you _ , Seungmin, for appreciating my awkwardness.” He pointed at the other to emphasize his words.

“It’s not awkward if you're being you.”  _ There he goes again, making me feel all warm and appreciated. It shouldn’t be possible, since I’ve only known him for a couple of days, but he manages it. Those two fiancés have a way of befriending people easily, huh? _

“Stop! I might come over and hug you if you keep being so nice! Or I might spill my life story to you!” Hyunjin whisper-shouted and Seungmin laughed again.

“Let’s clean, you can give me a hug goodbye later, if you want.” Seungmin went back to cleaning, opening a closet and pulling out a vacuum.

“Okay, deal.” 

* * *

“Ah, it’s here, Channie!” Jisung hit Chan’s shoulder lightly to tell him to park somewhere while he grabbed his phone and texted Minho and Seungmin and Hyunjin, just in case, that he had arrived. “Thanks for driving again! You’re the best.”

Chan grinned. “No problem, Ji, I kinda like being your chauffeur. You have fun! That’s most important, have fun.”

Jisung let out a breath. “Yes dad, and I’ll be home by curfew, don’t worry, Hyunjin’s with me.”

Chan laughed at that. “I’m serious!” 

“I know, I’m just teasing. You want a kiss? To show my thanks?” Jisung offered, knowing Chan would probably decline, but he could always try. He was thankful for Chan driving him, he could really always count on his friends, and a kiss to show his thanks was something Jisung liked doing but his friends didn’t particularly like receiving it.

“Are you serious?” Chan was grinning in embarrassment and let out a laugh as Jisung nodded. “No! Chop-chop! Go have your date!”

“Okaaay! You’re no fun. Bye-bye then!” He waved Chan goodbye and made his way to the building. As he was buzzed in and made his way up in the elevator his stomach churned in anticipation and a bit of nerves.  _ No pressure, just do as Chan said, have fun. My feelings are my feelings, nothing I can do about them. _

He knocked on the door and was greeted by Hyunjin and Seungmin who both wore big smiles on their faces. Jisung involuntarily mirrored their expressions. Hyunjin pulled him into a hug and gave him a short kiss as a greeting. 

“Are you guys happy to see me or are you guys having an unusual amount of fun cleaning?” He grinned as he was let into the apartment. 

“No, Seungmin was just being—” “Well Hyunjin was rambling again and—” The two spoke at the same time, their sentences cut off by both of them bursting out in laughter.  _ Seems like they're having a great time already.  _ Jisung felt a weight drop off his shoulders. 

When they passed the kitchen on their way to the living room, he tried to take a look but Minho began yelling. 

“No looking!!” 

Jisung quickly averted his gaze with a soft 'woah' and Seungmin clicked his tongue. “He has been in the kitchen for the better part of two hours now. He is building a rocket there for all we know.”

“He isn't accepting any help?” Jisung's eyes went wide. 

“He joined our conversation for a bit sometimes, but he won't let us help.” Hyunjin pouted a bit. “But we're having fun on our own.”

“Yup. I think he's almost done, but maybe you can go check? Maybe he'll let you in. We'll finish setting the table together.” Seungmin patted Hyunjin's back and then turned around to walk to the dining table. Jisung saw the wine Hyunjin brought was already on the table. 

He sighed,  _ I guess I should go check on Minho.  _ He turned back to the kitchen and announced himself. “Hi, Minho! Be—Before you yell at me! I'm just checking on your progress or— in other words—” 

Jisung cleared his throat. “What's cooking, good looking?” 

Minho let out a cackle and Jisung hoped sincerely he wouldn't jokingly flirt back, already regretting making his previous joke. 

“Are you flirting with me, Han Jisung?” 

The older tore his gaze away from the stove and took a step towards Jisung and the latter felt his stomach flip. He gave his best confident face, but he couldn't say the same about his words, though. 

“No. That was a mistake.” Jisung thought he saw Minho's face fall for a second before it returned to its usual neutral but slightly challenging state. 

“You don't have to justify that, I  _ know _ you're taken.” The boy scoffed and it stung. 

“I know you know that. I do think you're good looking— You already know that as well— Just—”  _ Where are my words?! Gosh, I'm already ruining everything.  _ “Never mind.”

Minho frowned at him and Jisung quickly gave him a smile, albeit a little fake, but it did the trick, because Minho turned his attention back to the food on the stove. 

“I'm almost done here.” He said. “If you want to help, you can help me carry the pans and help me with the dishes later.”

“Sure, but— you cooked as well, are you also going to do the dishes?” Jisung was glad he could still help with something, but he deemed it a little unfair for the cook to also have to do the dishes. 

“It's just rinsing and putting them in the dishwasher, nothing too crazy.”  _ Ah.  _ Minho raised his eyebrows, a pan in hand. “Are you going to help me or not, Hannie?” 

“Of course! Sorry!” Jisung hurried over and took a pan as well. 

“No peeking!” Minho called and Jisung almost dropped the pan. 

“Ya! Don't startle me like that!” 

They went back and forth for another couple of times until every little dish was on the table. It looked amazing and the lids weren't even off of everything yet! 

_ Why does he have to be a great cook as well?! That's just unfair.  _

“I present to you, Lee Minho's, also known as Lee Lee Know, dinner!” One by one he unveiled the dishes and explained their contents to the rest. 

“Jesus Christ, Minho. I didn't know you could cook like this!” Seungmin was just as in awe as the other two, staring wide eyed at the variety of tasty looking dishes. 

“You didn't know he could do this?” Hyunjin's jaw was almost on the table as he gaped at the food and at the fiancé of the cook. 

“You show off!” Jisung exclaimed, playfully slapping the air near Minho. 

“Guys! Guys! Keep the compliments at a minimum, I know I'm great, but I picked up some cooking tricks when I was living alone. It's a lot of work, so I only do it on special occasions, or when I want to show off.” The older had a satisfied look on his face. “Do you guys want some wine?”

They all took their seats, fiancés next to each other, and began serving each other food while conversing some more about Minho’s days of living alone and other stories from when they hadn’t met yet. Jisung listened intently to Minho speak and when he was speaking himself, Minho had his eyes focused on him in a way that made his head spin.

Even though he was telling stories about him and Hyunjin, sometimes also about Chan and Changbin, it seemed his gaze naturally returned to the dark-haired choreographer across from him. The lazy smile on the man’s face was something Jisung could look at for hours on end.

He forced himself to not get lost again, distracting himself with getting some more food and offering others some more wine.

As the night went on, Jisung noticed Hyunjin had become a lot more comfortable around the two as well, which he was glad for. He hoped that it would ease things a bit—  _ What am I thinking? Am I already  _ that _ set on leaving him for…? _

A guilty feeling settled in his stomach as he thought about how his mind hadn’t left the choreographer for very long when left alone. He really had fallen for Minho, huh? That was bad, perhaps.

Suddenly he caught sight of Seungmin giving him a  _ look  _ and Jisung knew he was caught red-handed.  _ Fuck! You are a real dumbass, huh? Staring at someone's fiancé like that! _

“Jisung? Is everything okay?” Seungmin asked and Jisung wanted to jump out of a window.  _ Why is he asking me that? What am I supposed to say? _

“Huh? Yes?” Jisung decided on feigning innocence. 

“Are you getting tired?” Hyunjin gently caressed a hand along his arm.

“No—”

“I think I saw you drop some food on your shirt just now, come with me for a second, I’ll help you fix it.” Seungmin stood up and Jisung couldn’t remember dropping any food. He was quite sure he hadn’t touched his food in a while.

He wasn’t sure what to do, Seungmin probably wanted to scold him for eyeing his fiancé in private and Jisung wasn’t sure he could handle the embarrassment, but he guessed he didn’t really have a choice. He stood up as well and he thought he saw Minho shoot a hostile look at Seungmin, but the latter ignored him.

“Okay, thanks.”

They made their way to the bathroom and Seungmin closed the door behind them. He turned to face Jisung and his eyes weren’t as angry as he had expected.  _ Oh gosh, is he one of those calm and collected angry people? Those are scary… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for another slightly abrupt ending! next time the continuationn~~


	15. It's unfair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At that moment Seungmin entered the kitchen, carrying some containers with leftovers. Soon after Hyunjin also came in to bring the pans and place them in the sink. “How’s it going with dessert?” He asked cheerfully.
> 
> “Almost done.” Minho answered and Jisung noticed a slight strain in his voice. But only very slight. He also could’ve imagined it, projecting the tight feeling he had in his own throat onto Minho.
> 
> “Okay!” Seungmin gave them a smile as the two left the kitchen again. Jisung turned back to Minho, who was silently putting bowls of fruit and yoghurts on a tray, together with other toppings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double date part two! seungmin talks to jisung and minho gets insecure.... will hyunjin notice something?
> 
> enjoooyyy!!

“I think I saw you drop some food on your shirt just now, come with me for a second, I’ll help you fix it.” Seungmin stood up and Jisung couldn’t remember dropping any food. He was quite sure he hadn’t touched his food in a while.

He wasn’t sure what to do, Seungmin probably wanted to scold him for eyeing his fiancé in private and Jisung wasn’t sure he could handle the embarrassment, but he guessed he didn’t really have a choice. He stood up as well and he thought he saw Minho shoot a hostile look at Seungmin, but the latter ignored him.

“Okay, thanks.”

They made their way to the bathroom and Seungmin closed the door behind them. He turned to face Jisung and his eyes weren’t as angry as he had expected. _Oh gosh, is he one of those calm and collected angry people? Those are scary…_

“You have nothing on your shirt, but you probably already figured. Don’t be scared.” The boy said calmly. “This is about you and Minho. You have feelings for him, right?”

“I’m sorry!” He squeaked out before clearing his throat. “I will stop. I mean— I haven’t done anything! I really haven’t! I won’t lay a finger on your fiancé.”

“No, that’s not what this is about. You can have him.” Seungmin said more serious than Jisung had ever seen him. _Wait, what?!_

“I— I can _have_ him?!” Jisung stuttered. “But— But you two are engaged.”

“And you are as well. But not out of love, right? I don’t care if Minho dates someone else— I’ll even be happy if he is happy, but— there’s one thing.” Seungmin pressed his lips together and Jisung nodded, prompting him to continue. “You’re not going to hurt Hyunjin, right?”

“What?! No! Of course not! He is my best friend! The last thing I want is for him to get hurt.” He cared very much for Hyunjin and he knew the opposite was just as true, so he hoped that would mean he wouldn’t hurt his friend, whatever happened.

“Okay, that’s good.” Seungmin let out a breath, seemingly relieved, _is he worried about Hyunjin? That’s very sweet._ “Do you want to talk to Minho about this?”

“Uhm— I don’t know. I really don’t know what to do.” Jisung fidgeted with his hands a bit.

“Do what feels right, I would say. I think Hyunjin would want that too?” Seungmin looked up in a bit of uncertainty, but then he opened the bathroom door again and left for the table. Jisung was a bit bewildered but he soon followed the boy back to the dinner table.

“Everything is okay! The disaster has been prevented! No signs of stains!” He announced as he sat down again and Minho’s stone-faced expression twitched into something like a smile. Hyunjin outright laughed.

“Did you guys have enough dinner? I do have some dessert as well, so if Seungmin would be kind enough to help me with that—” Minho was cut off by his fiancé.

“Why don’t you have Jisung help you? I’m sure he would like to help a bit as well. I’ll put the leftovers in some containers.” The brown-haired boy said with a kind smile, but Minho’s jaw clenched at the words.

“I’ll help out if you want, Minho.” Jisung said before he could think about it. He did want to help out a bit more and he didn’t exactly know what Seungmin was trying to achieve by suggesting this, but also it was maybe better for him to help Minho out with dessert than to put away leftovers.

They all brought the empty plates and silverware to the kitchen and Seungmin took some containers back, leaving Minho and Jisung alone in the kitchen.

“You don’t have to help with dessert if you’re also helping with the dishes later.” Minho said as he grabbed various things from the fridge. “But please stay here for a bit.”

“Okay. I’ll gladly help, though.” 

“What did Seungmin say to you in the bathroom?” Minho locked his eyes with Jisung and the latter thought he saw something like fear in his eyes.

“Uhm…” Jisung was a bit taken aback. _They keep saying things I don’t know what to say to!_

“Do you hate me?” Minho suddenly asked and Jisung had never seen him insecure like this. Where did _this_ suddenly come from?!

“What?! No! The opposite actua—” He stopped himself from finishing that dangerous sentence as he reached over for the older and took his hand in his own. He clenched his jaw. “I don’t hate you, why on _earth_ would you think that?”

“Nevermind.” Minho mumbled, trying to wring his hand out of Jisung’s, but Jisung tightened his grip. The older frowned at him. “Everything’s fine. Let go.”

“No.” Jisung wasn’t letting go before he knew where the sudden insecurity had come from.

“Jisung—” Minho sighed.

“I won’t let go because you obviously had a reason to ask that question and I think it’s absolutely ridiculous because I could never hate you. The very idea of me hating you is something I can’t imagine, something so foreign. Because, the way you make me feel—” _Shit. Two glasses of wine and I’m already getting this talkative!_ He quickly shook his head, heart beating at an incredible speed, and swallowed. “If you don’t believe me—”

He squeezed Minho’s small, although not bigger than his own, hand and his mind was racing, trying to come up with a way to show the man how much he _anti_ -hated him. He chewed on his lip before inching closer and placing a small peck on Minho’s cheek. His lips brushed against the skin very lightly, but he pressed forward to properly kiss him— only for a very brief second, though.

_That’s okay, right? I do that all the time. I give my friends kisses all the time. I’m not cheating._ Minho’s eyes went comically wide as he backed away. _Fuck._

“ _Why_ did you do that?!” He hissed and he was either red from anger or embarrassment.

“I’m sorry! I— I, uhh, I have a habit of— I like giving my friends— giving them kisses. I like to show my appreciation and affection that way! I’m so sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” Jisung struggled for words as he let go of the older’s hand to fidget with his own.

“ _What_ did Seungmin say to you, Jisung?” Minho’s eyes were serious and Jisung again got the urge to jump out of a window and run. He was _sweating_ . _What do I say? What the fuck do I say?_

At that moment Seungmin entered the kitchen, carrying some containers with leftovers. Soon after Hyunjin also came in to bring the pans and place them in the sink. “How’s it going with dessert?” He asked cheerfully.

“Almost done.” Minho answered and Jisung noticed a slight strain in his voice. But only very slight. He also could’ve imagined it, projecting the tight feeling he had in his own throat onto Minho.

“Okay!” Seungmin gave them a smile as the two left the kitchen again. Jisung turned back to Minho, who was silently putting bowls of fruit and yoghurts on a tray, together with other toppings.

“Minho, I’m sorry. Look— If you think Seungmin told me something that could make me hate you or something, that’s not true. What he said was about me, not you. Are you mad at me? For giving you a… I’m so so sorry—”

“Stop.” The choreographer cut him off. “You can explain it to me later. I’m not mad at you. Let’s go have dessert.”

“Okay.”

They had dessert together and they all acted as if nothing had happened— at least, they tried to. Jisung hoped the rest wouldn’t notice his slight nerves. If they did, they didn’t show it. 

A while later Hyunjin leaned back, hands on his stomach. “That was amazing, Minho! Really! I’m full.”

“Thank you, Hyunjin.” Minho chuckled. “I’m glad you all liked it, I put a lot of effort into it.”

They all started collecting their bowls and stacked them. “Jisung promised me to help with filling the dishwasher, you two can clean the table if you want. You are not needed in the kitchen.” 

Seungmin raised his head at that and gave Minho and Jisung a short look. “Okay! That’s nice of you, Jisung.”

“Sungie is _sooo_ nice!” Hyunjin cooed and Jisung sighed with a small smile. 

“Says the man who came early and helped way more than I will.” He shot back. After that he followed Minho back into the kitchen and they loaded in dishes in silence for a minute, before the older spoke up.

“I don’t like having serious conversations too much, you probably knew that already and if you don’t want to tell me what Seungmin said to you, that’s okay. I’m not mad at you.” Minho’s voice was soft and gentle and melted Jisung’s heart, made his legs feel soft and mushy.

“Minho…” Before he realized what he was doing, his fingers were ghosting against the older man’s jaw. The choreographer froze for a second before he continued placing a plate into the dishwasher, crouching next to it and escaping Jisung’s touch. Jisung followed him down until they both sat crouched on the kitchen floor.

Minho looked at him through his thick lashes, gaze soft. Oh how much Jisung wanted to leave feather-light kisses on his eyelids, on his forehead, his nose, near that adorable dot on his nostril, on his cheeks and jaw, only to end up on those pouty lips. 

“Seungmin saw me looking at you.” He whispered as his eyes roamed the older’s face. Unconsciously he leaned forward a bit. “He found out that I—”

Jisung locked eyes with Minho again and he saw something in them that gave him hope. Minho wasn’t leaning away. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears and his stomach did acrobatics as the older’s eyes flicked down for a second, his cheeks a light shade of pink.

Jisung swallowed. “He found out that I absolutely do _not_ hate you.” 

He slowly raised a hand to cup Minho’s cheek and Minho leaned into the touch, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. “Jisung… You’re engaged.”

“I know. I— I won’t do anything right now. But— It’s not out of love. I love Hyunjin, just not— just not in a romantic way.” His voice was barely above a whisper as he let his thumb stroke along Minho’s cheekbone.

“ _I’m_ also engaged.” The choreographer made a face and moved away from Jisung’s hand. Minho raised his hand to touch where Jisung’s hand had been earlier as he turned to look at the dishwasher again. “Seungmin may have told you that he is okay with me dating, but I don’t know if I can do it. Don’t abandon your best friend for me, ‘Sung.”

“I won’t. I’m sure he’ll understand.” Jisung tried to catch Minho’s eyes, but when he did he saw a somber expression. The boy returned to loading the dishwasher.

“Let’s not. It’s unfair to Seungmin. We’re great friends, right? Let’s not throw everything away and do things we’ll regret.” 

And with that their conversation was over and Jisung felt guilt and emptiness wash over him. He bit the inside of his cheek. _This means he feels the same about me? But it’s unfair to Seungmin? Why did Seungmin tell me he doesn’t mind it if Minho would date? He said I could_ have _him. I don’t think I would regret showing Minho my love. I don’t know how to tell him, though..._

When they had filled the dishwasher and turned it on, Jisung stretched himself out and yawned. Minho snorted— something Jisung really didn’t expect after they had been loading the dishwasher in silence for five minutes.

“You look just like Soonie when doing that.” He said, not really committing to making eye contact. Jisung couldn’t hold back a scoff mixed with a chuckle himself.

“I bet you look like your cats way more than I do.” He pointed at the cat-like boy. “When will I meet them?”

“You’ll meet them after I have seen you play guitar, you impatient squirrel!” Minho started walking out of the kitchen and Jisung followed him. They met their fiancés in the living room, who were having a casual conversation. “Come collect your man, Hyunjin, he’s getting tired.”

Jisung hit Minho with his fist, eliciting loud complaining from his friend and Hyunjin stood up and nodded. “I would love to stay for a bit longer, but Jisung and Seungmin, you have work in the morning again, so I think it’s better if we go. I had a lot of fun! Let’s do this again sometime!”

“Yes, definitely!” Seungmin agreed and led them to the hall for them to put on their jackets.

“Goodbye hug?” Hyunjin suddenly said and the taller of the two other fiancés grinned.

“That’s right, I promised that, huh?” He said and Jisung was both surprised and not surprised that Hyunjin had managed to convince Seungmin to give him a goodbye hug. He made eye contact with Minho for a brief second, both snickering at the situation.

“You get one too, Minho!” Hyunjin let go of Seungmin and spread his arms at Minho. He didn’t wait for any confirmation from the choreographer and enveloped him into a hug right away.

“Yo! Don’t just hug your boss like that!” Minho complained, but he didn’t seem to be very annoyed.

“Sorry!” Hyunjin let go quickly and bowed, making the rest laugh. Jisung gave each of them a hug goodbye as well and he and Hyunjin made their way to the subway station to go home.

They spoke a bit about the double date, Hyunjin told him everything he had talked about with Seungmin while Jisung was still at work. They had had a pretty heart to heart conversation, Hyunjin had that kind of effect on certain people. Hyunjin was a good listener and was easy to share his thoughts with others.

“Did you have fun, Sungie?” He asked suddenly. Jisung blinked in confusion.

“Huh? Of course I had fun!” 

“I’m just asking because you seem distracted lately. Distant, also.” Hyunjin said in a small voice, mindlessly caressing a hand along the back of Jisung’s head. _Shit, he did notice, huh?_

Jisung wondered if he should tell Hyunjin he didn’t have feelings for him anymore, he _should,_ but he also supposed he should wait a little longer. Minho said he wanted to stay friends, that he didn’t think he could date while being engaged to Seungmin, so he didn’t know if it was that urgent to tell him. 

He felt bad, but his throat closed up as soon as he thought about disappointing his best friend by telling him. He really didn’t want to make him cry.

“I’m sorry about that, just got a lot of things on my mind lately.” He said, sighing and resting his head on Hyunjin’s shoulder.

“Okay. Do you want to talk about it?” The black-haired boy carded a hand through Jisung’s hair, who shook his head softly.

“Not now.” 

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *eye emoji intensifies*


	16. Someone needs his coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Good morning to you too, Changbin! Nice weather today, huh? Please just call me Minho, Lino is only for people who are special to me. Seungmin and Hyunjin are not coming today, unfortunately. Please call Jisung to make me my iced americano, thank you, Binnie!” Changbin said with a sarcastic smile and a weird tone. “Oh my! You're chipper today, Minho!” 
> 
> Minho threateningly raised his phone as if he was going to throw it at the black-haired boy behind the counter. “Go get Jisung, you tiny pest!” 
> 
> “Woah, someone needs his coffee!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho is in a bad mood and needs his coffee  
> hyunjin gets a call  
> that's it
> 
> enjooooyyy

Minho walked into the shop and immediately was greeted by Jeongin and Felix, the former serving the latter some coffee. He checked his phone before making his way to the counters where Changbin stood. 

“Hi there Lino. No Seungmin or Hyunjin today or are they coming later?” The smaller greeted him. “You want Jisung for your iced americano, right?” 

“You don't get to call me that, yes, no and yes.” Minho checked his phone again. 

_ “Good morning to you too, Changbin! Nice weather today, huh? Please just call me Minho, Lino is only for people who are special to me. Seungmin and Hyunjin are not coming today, unfortunately. Please call Jisung to make me my iced americano, thank you, Binnie!”  _ Changbin said with a sarcastic smile and a weird tone. “Oh my! You're chipper today, Minho!” 

Minho threateningly raised his phone as if he was going to throw it at the black-haired boy behind the counter. “Go get Jisung, you tiny pest!” 

“Woah, someone needs his coffee!” Changbin frowned, his expression hurt, and he whispered after: “Or he needs a smile from Jisung…”

“Sorry Changbin…” Minho grumbled, he guessed he was being pretty rude. He just wasn't in the best mood right now. “I'm taking things out on you, sorry.”

“You wanna talk about it?” The boy still wasn't getting Jisung. Did he already forget again?

“No, I'm just a bit busy with work and things aside from work and Seungmin is being a real bitch because he is also working way too much and I thought the double date may be a good opportunity for him to calm down for once but now he didn't even want to come here on his break and he's being so stubborn about things and—” He stopped mid-sentence and saw Changbin was blinking at him for the sudden word vomit.

“That's rough— I thought you didn't want to talk, though—” 

“What I want is for you to finally go and get Jisung so I can get my iced americano!” He snapped and Changbin hurried away to the kitchen. 

_ “Jisuuuuunnnnggggggg! Your precious Lino is—”  _

“I told you not to call me that!” Minho called and he heard an exaggerated sigh and some chuckling. 

_ “Minho is here and he is cranky and needs his iced coffee. And maybe some hugs and kisses.”  _

_ “Okay, I'll go to the front. Do  _ you  _ also need some hugs and kisses baby Changbinnie?”  _

_ “... Maybe.” _

_ He really likes giving his friends kisses, huh? That's slightly adorable.  _ As Jisung appeared in the doorway the first small smile of the day may have appeared on Minho's face. 

“Hi there my precious Lino who's cranky and in need of an iced americano.” Jisung brushed some hair out of his face and Minho's fingers itched to reach out and help him. 

“Yes, please.” He let out a breath and the younger quirked an eyebrow at him. 

“You okay?” 

Minho shrugged. He could really use a hug and a kiss from Jisung right now, but he wouldn't ask for it, even though he just had gotten proof that the gestures could very well be platonically interpreted. 

“I took the day off— let my coworker check on the group for today because I'm handling some other stuff, but it's tiring. And Seungmin is just— stubborn.”

He checked his phone again. 

“Did you fight because of me?” Jisung's back was turned to Minho as he prepared the drink so he couldn't see the boy's expression. 

“No. It was partly about you but it wasn't  _ because _ of you.” Minho didn’t want Jisung to feel bad, to think any of this was his fault. “He’s just tired from working so much and his parents called him last night after you two left and we both weren’t really having it after that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for that. I hope my iced americano helps a bit!” The boy turned around and handed over the drink. 

“Seeing you helps more.” Minho blurted out and he saw Jisung blush. “Uhm— When is your break?”

“Almost. I was helping Chan out in the back with baking, so after I’m finished there I can come join you and cheer the cranky boy up!” Jisung patted his head and Minho rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t deny the warm feeling he got.

He went to sit at the table where Felix was sitting and tried listening to him speak about his plans to take Jeongin on a date, but concentration wasn’t optimally on his side. He was happy for his cousin, he really was, but his mind was otherwise occupied.

“That’s cute, I think he’ll like it.” He said, but there was no soul in it.

“Min. What’s up?” Felix reached over the table to take Minho’s hands. Minho let out a deep sigh.  _ What’s up? That’s a good question. I’m busy. I have feelings for Jisung and he has feelings for me too but I haven’t got a clue how to handle that. _

“Just— There’s a lot. I’m busy and annoyed at things, but I’m here to take my mind off of it, so I don’t want to talk about it now. I’ll call you later today, okay?” He checked his phone again, a message from Seungmin. He quickly typed out a reply and when he looked up he saw Jisung approaching the table and he immediately felt better again.

“Hey there Lee cousins! I brought you guys a tiny piece of the pie Chan and I were just baking, on the house!” Jisung put down a plate with yummy looking pie between them with a bright smile. This boy was really too good for this world, Minho had basically rejected him yesterday and now he was trying his best to cheer  _ him _ up. 

“Thanks, Ji!” Felix smiled back. Jisung sat down next to them and he started talking about random stuff, joking around.

Normally he would join the conversation, but today he was content with listening to Jisung's melodic voice and Felix's familiar one. It took his mind off of things. 

He was reminded of when Jisung had sang for him and he wondered when he would hear it again. He remembered the boy had told him he used to sing a lot, but he couldn't really sing while working in the shop. It really was a shame. 

“Hannie?” Minho spoke up as a silence fell. Jisung hummed in question. “What are you doing tomorrow?” 

“I'll be in the studio tomorrow.” The younger said. 

“Dance studio…?” 

“No, production studio, with Channie and Changbinnie. Should've clarified.” He corrected. “We're recording some guides and brainstorming probably.”

“Are you also bringing your guitar?” Minho gave him an expectant look and Jisung immediately saw what he was after. 

“You wanna see me play?” The squirrel-like boy wiggled his eyebrows at Minho who nodded casually. 

“He's pretty good! Channie can play the guitar as well.” Felix added.  _ Chan as well? Wow.  _

“Okay so when are you three forming your own group, then? And yes, you promised me to play for me, so…” Minho didn't want to be rude and ask invite himself over, so he hoped Jisung would get the hint. 

“Do you want to come to the studio tomorrow, Lino?” Jisung asked nicely. 

“Yes~” Minho smiled a fake sweet smile. “I'll come after dance practice, though, so I won't be bothering you for long.”

“That's ok—” 

Jisung was interrupted by Minho's phone ringing. He dug the thing out of his pocket and checked who was calling. 

“Oh, I have to take this. It's also my cue to leave, I think. See you tomorrow, Hannie! Talk to you later, Lix! Bye.” He stood up and waved his friends goodbye before leaving the store and picking up the phone. 

“Hello, this is Lee Minho.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Hyunjin let himself fall onto the cool wooden floor of the dance studio.  _ Finally time for a break! Water, come to papa!  _

He reached into his bag while lying down, pulling out his water bottle, food, towel and phone, the essentials. 

He checked his messages while hydrating himself and drying his excessively sweaty self.  _ I miss Minho already, practice really is more fun with him. And I get to visit Jisung during our break.  _

As he mindlessly scrolled and ate his lunch, he was suddenly startled by someone calling him.  _ Huh?  _ He clicked the green button and put the phone to his ear, frowning. 

“Hi, Hyunjin speaking.”

_ “Hyunjin—? Oh.” _ A sigh sounded from the other side and it didn't sound good. 

“Seungmin? Why are you calling me?” He was kind of concerned and definitely confused as to why the younger would call him when he was probably working.  _ Or is he still at the shop?  _

_ “Sorry. I must've clicked on the wrong name. I meant to call Minho.”  _

Hyunjin had never heard Seungmin's voice through a phone before, but he swore it sounded way more tired than usually. 

“Is everything okay? Didn't you just see Minho at the shop?” Hyunjin leaned back against the wall and repositioned his phone to hold it more comfortably. 

_ “No I— I didn't go today.” _

“Oh. Why not?” He didn’t know if he was prying or distracting him from work, but he trusted Seungmin to tell him if he was.

_ “Didn’t really feel like it. Sometimes I need a break from Minho, since we’re living together, you know? Do you ever have that with Jisung?”  _

Hyunjin thought about that. He really didn’t ever get fed up with Jisung, although it obviously hadn’t always been that way.

“Not really, no, but we’ve been best friends for a while. Although we didn’t really get along at first, haha!” 

_ “Oh that’s right, I remember you guys telling about that!” _

It was silent for a while after that, Hyunjin didn’t mind though, it was pretty relaxing. Seungmin also didn’t seem to mind too much. 

_ “I kinda wanted to call Minho though, even though I needed a break from him.”  _ Seungmin broke the silence.

“Understandable. Sorry for keeping you from doing that, I enjoyed talking to you for a bit, though.” Hyunjin nodded, he should probably also get back to dancing.

_ “It’s okay! I enjoyed it as well. Minho and I have been kind of stressing each other out lately, so talking to someone else is nice. Gotta hang up now, though. Talk to you later, Hyunjin!” _

“Bye!” He removed his phone from his ear and hung up. He actually wanted to talk some more, he was still a bit concerned about Jisung, but he didn’t know if he should vent to Seungmin when he was stressed as well.

Jisung had been a bit distant lately, but Hyunjin didn’t know why. There was a small voice in the back of his head saying that it was because Hyunjin was a bad boyfriend, but he tried to ignore that voice. Jisung was still really sweet to him and usually he was his happy and funny self, but sometimes he would get silent, sort of like he would get when they were in a big crowd and Hyunjin would see his expression was strained.

Other times he would get very talkative, like he would get when he’d get nervous or scared, for example when they would go out when it was dark outside or just before they’d go on a scary ride at the amusement park. Except this time none of those things applied, they were just hanging out and talking about their day.

Seungmin probably didn’t know what was going on anymore than he did, but Hyunjin just wanted to vent a bit. Not when Seungmin was stressed, though. And apparently Minho was a bit stressed as well? Minho had said he was otherwise occupied today, so he couldn’t come, so he guessed that could give stress.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by one of his dancer friends tapping him on the shoulder. “You ready to go again?”

Hyunjin nodded.  _ Thinking isn’t going to help me, time to dance. _


	17. Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What is he bringing?” Chan asked.
> 
> “I don’t know, he didn’t say. Ah, Minho just texted me. He’s finished and he’s going to come over after taking a shower and changing and stuff—”
> 
> “Oh my god is he describing to you that he’s going to take a shower and change?!” Changbin exclaimed and Jisung hit him with his fist. Chan was just laughing. Not funny, Chan!
> 
> “No! Jesus! He just said he’ll freshen up before coming. He just danced. It’s not a surprise he’s going to take a shower!” Jisung shook his head at his friends as he typed a message. “He says we’ll have to see what he’s bringing later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho is coming to watch jisung play and he brings something with him...!
> 
> enjooooyyy

“Changbin those lyrics are  _ awful! _ ” Jisung exclaimed. “I hate them. Why are you so good at this?”

“You can also just straight up say they’re good, you don’t have to scare me like that!” Changbin whined and the younger grinned.

“Sorry, thought you’d notice my sarcasm.”

Changbin sighed and closed his notebook with a small smile. Another set of lyrics finished, now they only had to record the guide and send it to the client, so there should be enough time left for Jisung to play a song or two when Minho’d come.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and looked at Chan and Changbin to see who’d record first.

“Shall I go first?” Chan proposed and then nodded to Jisung. “You can look at your messages, Ji.” 

“Is Minho already coming?” Changbin leaned over to look at his screen, but Jisung dodged, holding the phone out of the smaller’s reach. The black-haired boy whined softly.

“I’ll tell you! You don’t have to look.” Jisung turned his back to Changbin to read his messages in peace. “Hyunjin texted me so Minho should be finishing up as well. He said that Minho’s bringing something?”

“What is he bringing?” Chan asked.

“I don’t know, he didn’t say. Ah, Minho just texted me. He’s finished and he’s going to come over after taking a shower and changing and stuff—”

“Oh my god is he describing to you that he’s going to take a shower and change?!” Changbin exclaimed and Jisung hit him with his fist. Chan was just laughing.  _ Not funny, Chan! _

“No! Jesus! He just said he’ll freshen up before coming. He just danced. It’s not a surprise he’s going to take a shower!” Jisung shook his head at his friends as he typed a message. “He says we’ll have to see what he’s bringing later.”

“We? Is he bringing something for everyone or does he mean that we all have to wait to see what he’s bringing  _ you _ ?” Changbin leaned over to look at Jisung’s phone again.

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll see.” He put his phone away and shrugged. “But please don’t make him uncomfortable by teasing him about… you know what. He said he just wants to be friends and I’m still— I still haven’t told Hyunjin.” 

“You should tell him! Whether you have someone else or not, it’ll only hurt more if you keep stalling!” Chan told him and he knew it was true, he needed to tell Hyunjin and the sooner the better. He needed to do it for himself but mostly for Hyunjin’s sake.

“I know. I will! Let’s go record this guide.” He clapped his hands together and Chan went into the recording booth, Changbin also turned his attention to the oldest.

After recording the guide they had some more time to brainstorm until Minho arrived. Jisung wondered what he could possibly bring and why Hyunjin knew he would bring something. The fact that Hyunjin knew probably meant Minho hadn’t change his mind about the being just friends thing.

When Minho arrived he confirmed he had brought something for all three of them, but he said they shouldn’t get their hopes up too much and that he’d give it to them  _ after _ Jisung would play.

“Okay Mister Impatient. How are you and Seungmin doing, by the way?” Jisung zipped open his guitar case and pulled it out.

“Fine. Better than yesterday.” The older said simply. “Seungmin’s still working way too much, but he may be taking a break soon.” 

They all waited for Minho to elaborate maybe, but when he didn’t Jisung propped up his guitar on his knee and made sure it was properly tuned before looking at the rest to see they were all looking at him expectantly.

“Uhh, so thank you all for coming to my show, it was sponsored by the one and only Lee Know, who insisted I’d play, so thank you. Special thanks to our CB as well for helping me with this song.” He announced. “This is  _ ‘Another Day’ _ .”

He knocked three times on his guitar before playing the first chord and began singing. Jisung didn’t want to look at his friends while singing, that was a bit too intimate, but he felt their eyes were on him.

  
  


Chan noticed Minho was pretty immersed in watching the younger play. He understood, watching Jisung play the guitar and sing was something Chan himself couldn’t get enough of either. Changbin also loved it— who wouldn’t? Jisung was amazing— but something in Minho’s eyes was different. 

Jisung had already told them that Minho had implied he had feelings for Jisung, but seeing him look at the younger like that made Chan quite sure about those feelings. It was a shame he only wanted to stay friends. Well, they were also pretty great friends, so it wasn’t too much of a shame.

When Jisung finished the song he let out a breath and chuckled nervously, but Chan, Changbin and Minho were clapping enthusiastically. 

“Bravo!” Minho exclaimed happily and Jisung’s expression immediately brightened up. It made Chan very happy to see. Minho tilted his head slightly. “Will you play anything else?”

“Yes! Play  _ ‘Sunshine’ _ !” Changbin bounced on his chair. “You still know it, right? Hyunjin loves that song!” 

“Oh, is it a love song?” Minho asked.

“No, no. It’s— about uhm— you need to hear it, I guess. I wrote it about a year ago for a client but it was rejected— Which wasn’t bad! The song just wasn’t really fit for the album and I’m pretty glad to keep it for myself.” Jisung explained and after that Minho and Changbin began chanting ‘play it!’ until Jisung stopped laughing and relented. “Okay! I’ll play it!”

He stumbled on the lyrics during the second verse for a bit but none of the audience seemed to mind. It was another song you could easily get lost in and as Jisung played the last chord he was greeted with another excited round of applause.

“Guys…” The youngest of the four mumbled. 

“Shush! We accept no invalidation of your talents!” Chan stopped him before he could say anything that would degrade his songs, singing or musicality.

  
  


“So, when are you two playing something for me?” Minho turned to Chan and Changbin, who immediately began protesting.

“No! You came here for Jisung! Why don’t you show us what you brought us? We can all go home after.” Chan put on a fake sweet smile as he clapped his hands together. 

“Ya! You guys are unbelievable!” Jisung whined while putting away his guitar.

“Aren’t you curious, though?” Changbin countered. “What he brought us?”

“It’s not a gift, guys. Don’t expect too much.” Minho held a hand up as he grabbed his backpack. He rummaged inside before taking out three envelopes. He looked at each one of them before handing them over to their respective receiver.

Jisung looked at the envelope and saw his name was neatly written on the front side and he was afraid he’d mess it up by opening it too roughly. He was hella curious though, so he picked at the backside until he could rip it open. 

When he slipped the card out of the envelope and turned it around to see the front, things immediately clicked. His stomach dropped as he saw two people dressed in white in front of a white cake drawn on the card. Slowly he opened it and read the contents.

_ “Kim Seungmin and Lee Minho are finally getting married and we are happy to invite you to our wedding celebration—” _

Jisung stopped reading for a while, swallowing a lump that was forming in his throat. He didn’t know they were this far in planning that they were already sending out invites!  _ Why am I reacting this way? I could’ve expected this!  _ He shook his head and continued reading.

The wedding would be in only a little over two weeks, which was pretty soon, so did it mean they were suddenly rushing? Why? This was probably also part of the reason why Seungmin and Minho were pretty tired yesterday. Did Seungmin’s parents call to tell them to pick a date already? Or…

_ Is this because Minho found out about my feelings for him?  _ That thought made his stomach churn, he didn’t want to be the reason for their stress. He looked up and saw everyone looking at him. Chan and Changbin looked away quickly but Minho was still looking at him. He couldn’t read his expression, though.

“Congratulations, Minho!” Chan smiled at the choreographer and Changbin and Jisung congratulated him as well. 

“Thanks guys, it’s a bit on short notice, but I hope you can make it. I would greatly appreciate it, and Seungmin as well.” Minho smiled a bit sheepishly. 

“Of course we’ll be coming! It’s on a Sunday, right? So we won’t have to work in the shop.” Jisung reassured the older. It may be the wedding of the person who perhaps also was the love of his life, but Minho was his good friend nonetheless and Jisung would be a terrible one for not coming to his wedding.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Chan confirmed and Minho let out something close to a relieved breath.

“Thanks guys.” He especially looked at Jisung while saying that. He pressed his lips together and Jisung saw that Minho also thought that this wasn’t best case scenario.

“Of course, no problem.” Changbin patted Minho’s shoulder and they gathered their things to go home. Chan offered to drive everyone home and Jisung again was very thankful for his oldest friend. He didn’t particularly like public transport.

Changbin went to sit in the front, leaving Minho and Jisung to sit in the backseat. It was a short drive to Changbin’s from the studio, but the traffic probably wasn’t optimal at this hour. Anything better than taking the subway, though, but he wasn’t driving, so he had it easy.

He sat back and tried to keep his mind off of the wedding, but then Minho tapped his hand. “Hey, Sung, I’m sorry for dropping a bomb on you like this. Thanks for handling it well.” Suddenly a grin appeared on his face. “You’re the  _ bomb _ .”

Jisung threw his head back and groaned. “That’s  _ awful _ , Minho!”

“I’m not sorry. Anyway, I’ll come to your wedding as well, of course.” Minho patted Jisung’s hand and Jisung made a face.

“I’m not marrying Hyunjin, though— At least, I hope he’ll be making enough from your project to afford something on his own, because I’ll be— I’m planning on breaking up with him.” He whispered the last part of the sentence, slightly wincing at his own words.

“Why?” The older turned to face him a bit more.

“I already told you. I’m not— I don’t like him like that anymore. It’s unfair of me to keep leading him on.” Jisung’s heartbeat sped up thinking about breaking up with Hyunjin. 

“You— You don’t have to, you know. I don’t want to be the reason for your break-up.” Minho stuttered shyly. Jisung wasn’t having this. He really didn’t need anyone trying to persuade him to  _ not _ break up with Hyunjin. He took Minho’s hand in his own.

“I will, though. Look— Yes, I have feelings for you and that  _ may _ be the reason I don’t have feelings for Hyunjin anymore, but the facts are that I don’t have feelings for Hyunjin. I’m breaking up with him.” Jisung squeezed Minho’s hand for unknown reasons. Maybe it would make him feel better. Maybe Jisung just wanted to.

“Okay, you can do whatever you want.” The older shrugged. 

The ride was mostly silent after that, they arrived at Changbin’s and soon after they arrived at Jisung’s. He said goodbye to Chan and Minho and wished the latter good luck on the last bits of planning for the wedding, also sending his regards to Seungmin. When he entered his building he took a deep breath.

_ This wedding invitation may be a good reason to break up with Hyunjin. Gosh— I really do  _ not  _ want to do it.  _

He opened the front door and greeted his fiancé. 

“Hi, Ji! Did you have fun with Chan, Minho and Changbin?” Hyunjin looked up from the couch. 

“Yes! We also got— Uhh, I'm assuming you also got an invitation to the wedding?” Jisung grabbed the card and Hyunjin nodded to the coffee table where the same card laid. 

“By the way, did Minho come to the studio just to give you guys the invitations or something else as well?” Hyunjin was facing forward again, so Jisung couldn't see his expression. 

“He wanted to see me play the guitar.” As if to emphasize his words he put the guitar case down and he walked over to the couch to take a seat next to his friend. 

“That's nice.” Hyunjin smiled. “You know, the wedding? Makes me think, maybe we should also pick a date for our wedding, we don't have too much time left.” 

_ Shit. _ Jisung swallowed and tried to keep his expression neutral. 

“When's your project with Minho done?” He asked in return. Hyunjin's mouth formed a thoughtful pout. 

“The shows are from coming Wednesday until Friday.” He said. “I'll have to check the exact times, but if you're free I'd like you to come, of course.”

“Of course. I'll be there every show if Chan doesn't fire me for it!” Jisung thought he should maybe wait until after the shows to tell him. Hyunjin needed to be his best. “We'll talk after that.”

“Why after? We can pick a date already right?” Hyunjin looked at him with an innocent expression. Jisung didn’t know what to say. “Jisung, what’s going on? Are you having second thoughts?”

He clenched his jaw and avoided Hyunjin’s gaze that was burning on his skin. “Maybe?”

Next thing he knew, Hyunjin was wrapping him in a hug. “I’m sorry, Jin. I— I don’t know what— Let’s talk about this  _ after _ your shows.”

“It’s okay. I’m earning more and saving so I can afford something of my own. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, though. Really.” Hyunjin squeezed him tight and Jisung squeezed back. 

They sat wrapped in each other’s arms until they got too hungry and finally got up to make themselves some dinner.  _ Just a little more, then I can tell him. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof.


	18. You know how much I care about you, right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone called Hyunjin and he looked around. “I gotta go now, prepare for the real thing! See you later! Oh— And if Jisung comes, say hi to him for me. And for Minho if he has to stay backstage!”
> 
> “Good luck! Have fun.” As Hyunjin made a run for backstage, to the rest of the dancers, Seungmin felt something flutter in his chest. Maybe he cared for the boy a little more than he would admit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho's dance team has their shows! seungmin and jisung come to watch
> 
> enjoooyyy

The week went by too slowly. There was too much to do and too little time. It really didn’t help that Minho was equally busy with the shows coming up. They both didn’t have much time to focus on the wedding, luckily his parents weren’t shy in taking over the planning and hurrying them up.

Seungmin had protested when his parents had suggested the date, but Minho had accepted it. It had caused another argument between them, Seungmin was sure Minho wasn’t thinking and was just panicking because of his ‘moment’ with Jisung during the double date. The older was in denial about the situation, he didn’t believe Jisung really didn’t have any feelings for Hyunjin anymore.

During this week, however, Minho had come to believe it during their greatly needed breaks at the coffee shop and his other talks with Jisung. Seungmin had kept a close eye on Hyunjin and he saw that the black-haired boy was onto something, but he had also recently learned that Jisung was planning on breaking up with Hyunjin after the shows.

Minho had commented that Seungmin was developing tunnel-vision for the dancer, at which Seungmin had scoffed. He was merely looking out for the dancer, because he cared for him, like he did for all of his friends. 

On the first day of the shows Seungmin came to watch, since Wednesday was his day off. He watched the rehearsal as well and his gaze kept drifting to the black-haired dancer, he stood out from the rest, but maybe that was just because Seungmin had never seen any of the other dancers before.

When they were finished Minho encouraged them, gave them compliments and tried easing any nerves. After that the dancers took a break and Hyunjin came to sit with Seungmin, drying his sweat with a towel. His long black hear was almost drenched, a few sweaty strands were sticking to his forehead, probably having fallen out of his half-up half-down hair.

“You were great!” He said and Hyunjin smiled.

“You think? Thanks.” He was panting slightly, wiping his face with the towel. “Uhm, Min? Can I talk to you about something? You can say no, I just feel like I need to vent for a bit.”

“Of course. I’ll listen. Or talk with you, if you want.” 

“Thank you. It’s just— Jisung has been distant for a while— Well, he has his moments, it kinda goes up and down, but he also said he has been having second thoughts about getting married slash living together and stuff. I get it, I guess, but it seems like there’s something else. I don’t know. He says he’ll talk to me after the shows, but I just needed to tell someone, let out the nerves.” Hyunjin let out a breath after talking and then tried a smile.

“He didn’t say why he was having second thoughts?” 

The boy shook his head.

“But— I get it. Marrying is a pretty big deal.” Hyunjin had a great point there. Suddenly Seungmin felt anxious as well.  _ What am I doing with my life? Wait— now is not the time to start doubting every decision I’ve ever made. Although, if not now, when will I think about what I want? _

“Minnie?” Hyunjin pulled Seungmin out of his thoughts and looked at him with a curious look. “You here?”

“Yeah, sorry. Just— When you said that marrying is a big deal— I guess it is. I have been a bit passive about the situation, but now it hit me.” Seungmin sighed. “It’s a bit late to have second thoughts for me, though. Everything’s already planned and prepared— Almost everything.”

“It’s never too late, I think. Listen to yourself, to what you want, I’d say.” Hyunjin said. “But that’s the advice I always give because I don’t know how to do anything else, haha!”

“It’s good advice, though.” Seungmin decided he would think about it. How scary it may be for him to do what  _ he _ wants for once, it may all be worth it in the end.

“Can I ask you one more thing?” Hyunjin asked.

“Always.”

“Do you know if Jisung has said anything to Minho?” The black-haired boy’s voice was a bit hesitant. “I— I mean or if he has said anything to you? I just thought that since he’s so close to Minho that would be more likely.”

_ Oh lord, what do I tell him? Yes, he has said things to Minho, but I can’t tell you that. Do I tell him the truth, though? Do I tell him I can’t tell him or do I lie? _

“About what exactly?” He decided on asking.

“I don’t know, anything about why he’s been distant or… you know?” 

“Uhm, well, yeah— although— not directly, but I can guess something. I don’t know if it’s my place to guess around. If Jisung says he’ll talk to you after the shows, then he has a reason for waiting, right?” Seungmin stuttered, but Hyunjin seemed to be a bit relieved.

“That’s right. I’m just worried about him.” Someone called Hyunjin and he looked around. “I gotta go now, prepare for the real thing! See you later! Oh— And if Jisung comes, say hi to him for me. And for Minho if he has to stay backstage!”

“Good luck! Have fun.” As Hyunjin made a run for backstage, to the rest of the dancers, Seungmin felt something flutter in his chest. Maybe he cared for the boy a little more than he would admit.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Hyunjin that was awesome!” Jisung yelled as he ran to a sweat-covered Hyunjin who laughed while catching the smaller into his arms. Seungmin went to stand next to Minho, who had just ended giving a proud speech to his dance team. 

The boys had really pulled through and the place had been pretty packed already, but with how they had performed, Minho expected even more people to come the next two days. 

“Thanks, Sungie.” Hyunjin leaned down for a kiss and Jisung laughed against his mouth.

“You're all sweaty, Jinnie!” He giggled. 

“Yet you're hugging me.” Hyunjin squeezed the younger tight and Jisung groaned. 

“Was Jisung okay with the crowd, Min?” Minho asked his fiancé, not really wanting to stare at the other two fiancés. Seungmin nodded. 

“He's also coming tomorrow and the day after.” 

Minho's face fell. He shouldn't care this much. He definitely shouldn't. Jisung can take care of himself, Minho knew that, but he couldn't help his cat-mom instincts going crazy at the slightest possibility of Jisung being uncomfortable or him panicking.

It was a feeling similar to the one he gets when his cats are out for a bit too long, or when something scares them and they're shaking on their paws, which means he feels downright awful. 

_ Fuck I am getting way too soft. I never worry about  _ people  _ this much.  _

“Good work to you as well, coach!” Suddenly Hyunjin and Jisung were standing a lot closer than before. Minho quickly made sure no traces of a scowl were left on his face. 

“It's mostly you guys, though. You have to do the real work.” He clapped the taller's shoulder. “By the way, Jin, I think I want you to stay in my team for a while longer— maybe permanently, you're versatile and passionate, everything I could wish for in a dancer. And you're nice.”

Hyunjin's eyes lit up. “Really?!” 

“Nah I'm joking.” Minho deadpanned and Hyunjin's face fell. “No! Of course I'm serious! I'm not that cruel! Jeez, Hyunjin.”

“Oh thank goodness.” The black-haired boy chuckled awkwardly. He then hugged the older. “Thanks, Minho!” 

“No problem.” He pulled out of the hug and gave Hyunjin a stern look. “But if you mess up the coming days the deal is off!” 

Now Hyunjin laughed. “You're not serious, right? Anyway— I am going to take a shower! There are showers here, right? Bye!” 

Jisung grinned at his fiancé as he pushed him away to take a shower. He then turned to the two other guys in the room. “Do you have to stay backstage every show?” 

The question was obviously meant for the older of the two, Seungmin wouldn't be there for the rest of the shows— and he would definitely not be backstage. 

“No, I don't think so. Do you want me with you so badly?” Minho raised a teasing eyebrow. Jisung scoffed. 

“Don't flatter yourself too much. I never said I wanted you with me.” He rolled his eyes, but not with quite the confidence he usually had while teasing Minho. He then bumped their shoulders together. “But you know what I mean, right?” 

“I would say 'use your words and tell me', but I understand what you mean: you want me with you.” Minho winked cheekily. Why? Because serious wasn't his thing and apparently flirting was his way of dealing with things. Luckily Jisung also understood him, because he laughed. 

“How do you put up with this guy, Seungmin?” The younger pointed a thumb at Minho. 

“I don't.”

  
  


The next day Minho made sure to be in the audience when Jisung arrived, glad to see his team dance from another perspective as well. He was also glad he could grant a bit of comfort to the younger, because as the hall filled with more and more people, Jisung took his hand, staying close. 

Hyunjin definitely saw them, but he wasn’t sure if the boy could see that their hands were intertwined. His dancing was great as ever, though.

On Friday Jisung came to watch the rehearsal before the show as well and he seemed nervous even before there was anyone else. He also intertwined their fingers once the show started, holding on tighter than before. Minho told himself to not be too affected by it, but it didn’t really work. The butterflies in his stomach didn’t listen to him.

“You okay?” He whispered, just loudly enough to be heard over the music. Jisung nodded.

“Yes. I’m glad you’re here.” 

Now Minho nodded. He was also glad to give Jisung the support he needed. He didn’t think he could be there for the break-up, though. That would be more painful for both Hyunjin and himself. For now squeezing hands had to do.

  
  


* * *

  
  


On the way home, Jisung was very quiet again. Hyunjin had seen him hold hands with Minho in the crowd while he was dancing on stage, so he guessed it was still partly because of his anxiety, but a voice in the back of his head told him it had something to do with why he was second guessing getting married.

They arrived at their apartment and the younger still wasn’t talking, except, he was looking at his feet with anxious eyes. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of Hyunjin’s stomach.

“Sungie?” Hyunjin asked and Jisung jumped. “Oh sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Was there something you want to talk about?”

Jisung was chewing on his lips and Hyunjin got slightly nervous. He kind of dreaded what his fiancé was going to tell him. Jisung took both of Hyunjin’s hands in his own and Hyunjin’s heart jumped. When he saw the look in Jisung’s eyes his stomach dropped.  _ Fuck. No, no please. _

“Jinnie.” Jisung took a deep breath. “You know how much I care about you, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGER! SORRY  
> tomorrow things'll continueee


	19. I should've known

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How could he not have seen it? And why was he still not ready to let his best friend go? Jisung was his everything. He had been there for him in the hardest of times, made him laugh whenever he needed it and also when he didn’t particularly need it. This couldn’t be happening. Hyunjin felt anger, fear and hurt mix in in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beware of angst.... (not tooo much though because im a big softie,,...,..)
> 
> IM SORRY FOR POSTING THIS A FEW HOURS LATE I FORGOT

Jisung was chewing on his lips and Hyunjin got slightly nervous. He kind of dreaded what his fiancé was going to tell him. Jisung took both of Hyunjin’s hands in his own and Hyunjin’s heart jumped. When he saw the look in Jisung’s eyes his stomach dropped.  _ Fuck. No, no please. _

“Jinnie.” Jisung took a deep breath. “You know how much I care about you, right?”

Hyunjin really didn’t like where this was going already, this sounded an awful lot like the first sentence of a break-up.  _ Should I have seen this coming? Of course I should have seen this coming! _

“I know.” He breathed out.

“I should have told you sooner, but I didn’t want to hurt you. I still don’t want to hurt you, Hyunjin, that has been and always will be the last thing I want, so—” Jisung squeezed his hands and Hyunjin didn’t want to hear any more. He didn’t want Jisung to finish that sentence. He wasn’t ready for that.

Although he should have been. He should have seen it. He should have seen the way Jisung looks at Minho. He  _ saw _ them holding hands the whole damn show! He should have known from the way they gravitated towards each other, from every time they ended up in a situation with just the two of them: from the first time when they went to the staff bathroom together to when Minho had pulled Jisung back into the subway and had taken him home to when they were in the kitchen together and Minho had visited him in the studio.

How could he not have seen it? And why was he still not ready to let his best friend go? Jisung was his everything. He had been there for him in the hardest of times, made him laugh whenever he needed it and also when he didn’t particularly need it. This couldn’t be happening. Hyunjin felt anger, fear and hurt mix in in his chest.

“It’s Minho, huh?” He snapped and Jisung winced at the harsh way he said it. Hyunjin didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but he needed to understand.

“What?” Jisung asked, as if he didn’t know what Hyunjin meant. “It’s not—”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about! You like  _ him _ , right? That’s why you’re breaking up with me, right?” Hyunjin’s voice was shaking as much as his hands were. “Did you— Did you guys—” 

“Hyunjin! Stop! That’s not the reason! I promise you I didn’t cheat on you!” Jisung squeezed their hands, eyes pleading. “I  _ swear _ I didn’t do anything more than give him a kiss on the cheek! Minho only wants to stay friends, so I’m not breaking up with you to be with him or anything. I just—”

“Then what?” Hyunjin felt the anger fade a bit, but his chest didn’t hurt any less. He still felt like crying. Jisung was still breaking up with him and he didn’t know if he should believe him right now.

“I don’t have feelings for you anymore.” Jisung told him straight up. “I can’t keep leading you on, it’s unfair. I’m sorry Jin—”

The tears started falling now. He pulled the smaller into a desperate hug, sobbing against his chest. “Jisung— Please! I— I love you!”

Jisung let out a whimper. “You don’t, Hyunjin. Not in that way. I’m not leaving you, we’ll still be best friends. You’re not losing me. I love you like a friend.”

Hyunjin felt a hand stroke his head, the way he always would stroke Jisung’s. He believed Jisung, but it still felt like he was losing him. The tears kept coming.

“Jinnie, please. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want it to be this way, but I love you as my dear friend, nothing more and nothing less. Nothing has to change, we just won’t kiss each other on the lips anymore. We’ll still cuddle, I’ll still give you kisses, we’ll still go out and do things together. You can still visit me at my work and I will visit you as well. You can come talk to me about everything and I’ll come to you as well.” Jisung held him tight and Hyunjin tightened his own grip. He didn’t have the strength to say something, but he believed his friend.

They sat in each other’s arms in silence for a couple of minutes. When Hyunjin had mostly stopped sobbing, Jisung placed a kiss on the top of his head. “Are you mad at me? Or— at Minho? He didn’t do anything, though. He wanted me to stay with you, even. He— He didn’t want me to break up with you.”

Hyunjin would be lying if he’d say he wasn’t a bit mad, his stomach had churned at the thought of Jisung and Minho being lovey dovey behind his back. Jisung had said they hadn’t done anything, though, and he didn’t know for  _ sure _ if Minho liked Jisung, but there was a great chance he did. He had seen them hold hands. Jisung didn’t do that with Seungmin.

But both Minho and Jisung were Hyunjin’s friends and he was inclined to believe them, to believe  _ in _ them. They had both never hurt Hyunjin before this, so surely Jisung was telling the truth right now. That didn’t mean he didn’t feel like crap, though. It did mean he’d get over it, probably.

“I’m not  _ mad _ . I believe you.” His words were muffled by sobs and Jisung’s shirt. Jisung kept carding through his hair. 

“What do you need? Do you wanna be alone? Talk to someone else? Just stay like this?” He asked and Hyunjin finally sat up, eyes swollen and red. He didn’t really know what he wanted right now, but he supposed getting some fresh air may be good for him. He needed some time to gather his thoughts.

“I think I’ll go for a walk. Get some fresh air.” Hyunjin took a deep breath and stood up from the couch. He stretched his arms above him.

“Do you want to eat together? I’ll order something.” Jisung looked up at him from the couch and Hyunjin saw his eyes were wet as well and his nose slightly red. There were streams of red on his cheeks.  _ Oh no… I hadn’t even heard him cry. _

“Uhm, I don’t know yet. I’ll text you when I decide. If you get hungry before, feel free to just order.” Hyunjin brought a hand through his hair and grabbed his jacket, making sure he had his phone with him.

“Jinnie?” Jisung’s voice was small and Hyunjin didn’t dare to look at him, afraid he’d cry again. 

“What is it?”

“Do you forgive me?” He asked.

“Yes, of course. I will.” Hyunjin turned around to glance at the younger and give him the closest thing to a smile he could muster. “I just need some time.”

He went for a stroll outside, trying to clear his mind. It was already getting dark outside, but not so much that it made for worse vision. He opened his phone to see some congratulatory messages for finishing the shows well. He chuckled, it already seemed so long ago that he danced on that stage.

He contemplated calling someone, it always helped more to just vent to someone, but who should he call? Hyunjin scrolled through his contacts, he didn’t want to bother one of his dancer friends with this, but calling Chan also didn’t feel right. Usually he would talk to either Chan or Jisung about the things that bothered him and if it was about dance one of his dancer friends or Minho, but Minho was especially out of the question right now and maybe Jisung wanted to talk to Chan.

He guessed Changbin or Felix were also okay, but maybe not for this kind of thing. Then he saw another contact:  _ ‘Seungminnie’ _ . Seungmin was a great listener and he had felt comfortable sharing his concerns with him before. Seungmin had also confided in him, but he was Minho’s fiancé and even though this didn’t directly involve Minho, he probably knew about this. Seungmin was observant like that.

_ Aagh! Do I call him or not? Why am I being indecisive?  _ His thumb kept hovering the screen in uncertainty, to call or not to call? Before he could decide, however, a call popped up on the screen and his ringtone began playing.

Hyunjin jumped two meters into the sky.  _ Fuck! That startled me! _ He calmed himself down, one hand clutched at his chest and checked the caller ID.  _ ‘Seungminnie’ _ .  _ Oh my God that’s scary. _

“Hello? Seungmin?” He picked up.

_ “Hi, Hyunjin.”  _ It sounded through the phone.

“You know, I was  _ just _ contemplating calling you. You scared the hell out of me by calling me!”

_ “Really?”  _ Seungmin chuckled and Hyunjin immediately felt lighter.  _ “Sorry for scaring you. Why did you want to call me?” _

“No, you first.”

_ “Uhm. I was wondering if you were okay…”  _

_ He was wondering if I’m okay? Did he already hear? _

It was silent for a bit and Hyunjin waited for Seungmin to explain. In the meantime he searched for a bench to sit on.

_ “You would talk to Jisung today, right?”  _

“Oh. That. Yeah. That’s true.” He swallowed. “He broke up with me.”

_ “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Jinnie. Do you want to talk? Wait. Where are you right now?”  _ Seungmin asked and it sounded like he was walking fast.

“Uhm, just outside Jisung’s near the park— Wait, you don’t know where Jisung lives.” Hyunjin tried describing where he was and then he realized what was happening. “Wait a second! Are you coming here?”

_ “Yes. If— If you want!”  _ Hyunjin chuckled. Seungmin was really, really sweet. The fact that he called to check up on him was already pretty considerate, but now he was coming to see him.

“Yes, I would like that.”

_ “Okay, I’m on my way. I know the park you were talking about, I think. But you’ll recognize me, I’m still in suit.”  _

“You’re coming straight from work?” Gosh, Seungmin probably hadn’t eaten yet and Hyunjin felt slightly guilty for making him come over, but the brown-haired boy had already made up his mind.

_ “Don’t worry about me. I called you so you could talk to  _ me _. So talk. I’ll listen. I’m here for you.”  _

Hyunjin’s heart skipped a beat at the sweet words.  _ He really is so sweet. _

He let out a breath and started ranting. He threw his filter away and started rambling, spilling every last bit of his thoughts about the situation. Seungmin was silent except for some soft hums and breaths to let the other know he was still listening. He may have almost started crying about seventeen times while talking, but he felt a lot better after.

Before he knew it Seungmin was standing before him with a tiny smile painted on his face. Hyunjin’s expression lit up as well. The younger hung up and spread his arms. “Hug?”

Hyunjin stood up and his wobbly legs made him almost fall into Seungmin’s embrace. He couldn’t help sobbing now. He didn’t know if it was just because he was sad, though. 

Hyunjin unconsciously stroked the back of Seungmin’s head.

“There, there. You can let it all out. You don’t have to comfort  _ me _ , though.” Seungmin softly chuckled and Hyunjin let out a chuckle through his sobs. He stopped the motion of his hand but didn’t remove it.

“Sorry, I’m getting your suit all wet.” He sobbed against Seungmin’s shoulder. 

“It’s okay.”

“Did you know about this? Does Minho like Jisung as well?” Hyunjin asked and pulled out of the hug to dry his tears. Seungmin pulled a napkin from out of his pocket and dabbed Hyunjin’s cheeks with it gently before offering it to the taller to blow his nose with.

“I had a feeling about Minho since around the time you guys told us you were engaged, so when I first met you. Minho denied any feelings for a pretty long time, though. I don’t think he’s ever admitted he has feelings for Jisung, but he isn’t denying it anymore.” Seungmin led Hyunjin to sit with him on the bench Hyunjin had sat on earlier. He listened intently to what the other had to say.

“I don’t know when I started suspecting Jisung had feelings for Minho, but I asked him about it during our double date and he confirmed it.” Seungmin invited Hyunjin to snuggle against him by lifting his arm and letting it rest around the dancer’s shoulder. Hyunjin gladly accepted and rested his head against Seungmin’s shoulder, looking up at him.

“You asked him about it? What else did you say? What do you think of this whole situation, by the way?” He asked.

“I told him he could have Minho as long as he wouldn’t hurt you. I knew he wouldn’t want to hurt you, but I still thought that I’d say it just in case.” Seungmin was looking ahead and Hyunjin was looking up at his side profile.  _ He said Jisung could  _ have _ Minho? As long as he didn’t hurt  _ me _?! _

“Seungmin… But— If you said Jisung could ‘have’ him, why did Jisung then say Minho just wants to be friends?” 

“He is afraid he’ll cause me trouble or something? Or he’s afraid of ruining his friendship with either you or Jisung or both. I don’t really know the details, sometimes it’s hard to get the guy to talk with you honestly and seriously.” Seungmin answered, mindlessly rubbing circles along Hyunjin’s upper arm. It was a soothing gesture.

“Oh. Oh, he must’ve been pretty troubled as well. Jisung was too. Gosh and here  _ I _ am being a drama queen about it.” Hyunjin let his head fall back, looking up at the deep blue sky. 

“Don’t invalidate your own feelings. Just because others are having a hard time doesn’t mean your experience is suddenly invalid.” For the first time since they sat down, Seungmin turned to look at him and Hyunjin turned to meet his gaze. It was from a bit of an awkward angle, but the message hidden in his eyes was loud and clear. 

Seungmin’s expression was gentle and kind. It made Hyunjin feel like he was understood, it made him feel warm. Suddenly he was overwhelmed by the warmth pooling in his stomach at the sight of the red sunlight reflected in Seungmin’s dark eyes. He was pretty in this light.

Before he knew it their noses were touching and Hyunjin longed for nothing less than to be held by the puppy-like boy. The way Seungmin was looking back at him, eyes flicking down for a second before flicking back up, made Hyunjin buzz with electricity. 

How could he not have seen what was right in front of him? It didn’t matter, because he saw now. He saw Seungmin. He understood why he had felt so warm, so comfortable.

And so he properly turned his body toward the younger, placing his hand on his shoulders, and closed his eyes while leaning forward, capturing Seungmin’s lips with his own. Maybe he shouldn't be comparing the kiss to kissing Jisung, but Seungmin seemed less experienced as he carefully and slowly returned Hyunjin's kiss. 

He didn't mind it, though, it kind of fit. It also took his mind off of certain things. Hyunjin pulled Seungmin closer, wanting to savour the moment, but the latter pulled away. 

“Wait— Hyunjin, I know you said I should listen to what I want more, but I don't think you are thinking clearly right now. I don't want— Uhm… I don’t want to be your rebound.” Seungmin was already panting. “You  _ just _ broke up.” 

Hyunjin grimaced, both because he already missed Seungmin's soft lips and because Seungmin was right. This was wrong. “You're right. Sorry.”

Then it suddenly clicked what Seungmin had said.  _ 'I know you said I should listen to what I want more', does that mean he wanted this? Did I really get that right?  _

“You—? Do you— Did you—?” Words weren't forming properly, so Hyunjin sighed, gave up on his initial question and tried again. “You must be hungry, let's get something to eat?” 

“Sure.” Seungmin nodded. “Let me text Minho.”

“Yeah, I'll inform Jisung.” Hyunjin pulled out his phone and typed out a text,  _ 'Met with Seungmin, talked to him and now we're getting dinner together. I feel a lot better, hope you do too. See you tonight, Sung'.  _

“Okay let's go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....!!! the drama!


	20. Luckily he's an angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every one of his coworkers was looking at him while tying their aprons.
> 
> “We went to the arcade and we played a lot of games,” Jeongin thought back at the date fondly, Felix hadn’t overpowered him as much as he had expected in the arcade, it seemed as if they were both distracted by something else. When Jeongin was about to win something, Felix would sometimes grab his hands with his own small ones and Jeongin always lost after, but the angel smile after was always worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting more jeonglix content!  
> seungmin wonders if jisung is okay with the things that happened last time...
> 
> enjoooyyy!

When Jeongin arrived at work that morning, his three coworkers were lost in a deep conversation already this early on the day. Usually it would take them a while to wake up. 

He approached them, already pricking up his ears. 

“...after talking and having dinner with Seungmin, so I was happy about that.” Jisung was just finishing a sentence as they saw Jeongin approach. _Oh I remember now, he broke up with Hyunjin yesterday, huh? I hope he's okay._

“Good morning everyone. What's the gossip?” 

They told him the story and Jeongin was both surprised and not surprised by how relatively well it had gone. Jisung looked pretty okay, not a wreck at all, which was better than expected. He did have major bags under his eyes.

He was more worried about Hyunjin, from what he knew and had seen he was pretty emotional, but Jisung told him that Hyunjin told him that he had talked to Seungmin and had dinner with him and had come home looking and feeling a lot better. 

“Oh, so if you're taking Minho, Hyunjin will take Seungmin?” Jeongin blurted out before he could think about it. He slapped a hand in front of his mouth. “Sorry! Way too soon! _Way_ way _waaaay_ too soon!” 

Luckily Jisung seemed to find it a tiny bit amusing, because his mouth twitched up. “It can happen, now, let's talk about something else and open up!” 

“Yes, how were things with Felix yesterday, In?” Chan opened up the door to the store and let the rest in. Jeongin smiled involuntarily, thinking about his day yesterday.

“Oh! That’s right! Oh! Did you guys kiss?!” Jisung was suddenly yelling. It seemed he was easily distracted from his own situation. Or he was just really trying to distract himself. Every one of his coworkers was looking at him while tying their aprons.

“We went to the arcade and we played a lot of games,” Jeongin thought back at the date fondly, Felix hadn’t overpowered him as much as he had expected in the arcade, it seemed as if they were both distracted by something else. When Jeongin was about to win something, Felix would sometimes grab his hands with his own small ones and Jeongin always lost after, but the angel smile after was always worth it.

Jeongin didn’t like skinship too much, he was way too ticklish for that. Felix was the opposite, however. Whenever the older was with someone he was close to he would find a way to wrap an arm around them. With Jeongin he somehow managed to avoid all of his ticklish spots without ever asking where they were when initiating skinship once in a while. 

They had held hands a lot, though, Jeongin didn’t mind that at all. He could fully envelop Felix’s hands with his own long fingers. They got sweaty and it made for both of them to be more clumsy at the arcade games, but again it was worth it.

Jeongin couldn’t remember feeling the way he did for Felix for anyone else ever in his life. He had a habit of always smiling, to be polite, to hide his embarrassment or clumsiness, to seem happy, but with the blonde he almost always smiled out of happiness. When he was telling Felix that, just because he felt like he needed to, he had smiled out of embarrassment, but Felix’s almost panicked happy reaction had made him smile out of surprise.

An example of him smiling out of clumsiness was when he had insisted on helping Felix cook and had almost spilled all of the sauce by tripping over his own feet. He had also cut himself while cutting vegetables, but Felix had given his finger a very tiny little kiss and suddenly everything was fine again. Technically Felix had kissed him then and Jeongin had definitely taken note of that, but it probably wasn’t the kind of kissing Jisung was referring to.

“He also made me pasta and I kind of helped, I guess…” Jeongin continued, mindlessly leaning against the counter. His coworkers eyes were still glued to him, Chan had a proud smile on his face, he had probably already heard of things from Felix, if he hadn’t been talking to Jisung to comfort him yesterday, that was.

The freckled boy made a very good pasta and the cook had said it tasted better now that Jeongin had helped, but Jeongin had called bullshit. Unfortunately there hadn’t been a romantic Lady and the Tramp moment, Jeongin did contemplate forcing one, but he had already used up all of his courage with wiping a bit of sauce off of the corner of Felix’s mouth. That, and the way Felix had swiped his tongue along his lower lip to get any other remains of sauce after had really been too much.

He had been totally and utterly out of it after that and Felix somehow thought it would help him to mindlessly speak sweet words at him about how he had wanted to ask him on a date ever since their casual gaming session and had gained confidence to do so after he had showed the younger the basics of coding another time and after talking to Chan. 

After that Felix began speaking about things he liked about Jeongin and Jeongin had wondered if Felix was reading his mind and exposing to him everything he liked about Felix, but apparently he was telling _Jeongin_ what he liked about _him_. 

Absolutely absurd.

There was no way an angel like Felix would wax poetic about how he loved Jeongin’s smile and about how Jeongin apparently made every day a little brighter, because it was the other way around. How could Felix say that Jeongin was funny and cute but at the same time handsome when Jeongin thought the exact same about the blonde.

Felix hadn’t— couldn’t talk about Jeongin’s freckles, however, because he didn’t have freckles painting constellations across his face. That’s why Jeongin spoke about it, while admiring and counting the little dots and spots in another surge of confidence until he lost count because he was too amazed by the way each of them had a slightly different shape.

It was then that Felix had, only very lightly, but nevertheless intentionally, leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on Jeongin’s lips. He would have had to pinch himself to believe it had actually happened if it wasn’t for the fact that he had let out the most embarrassing sound a human could possibly make after. Felix wasn’t human, though, he was an angel, so he had just laughed and had gently cupped Jeongin’s face to place another kiss to the side of his head.

“We did kiss, yeah…” He finally answered Jisung’s question. “I almost ruined it, though. I’m lucky Felix is an angel.”

“Who likes you a lot.” Changbin finished the sentence and Jeongin chucked a spoon at him. Changbin unfortunately ducked on time and turned to look at where the piece of silverware had landed. “Hey! He asked you on a date! It’s obvious by now, right?”

“The baby is still shy about it, Binnie.” Jisung cooed and Jeongin shot him a hopefully threatening look.

“I’m not a baby!” He slapped Jisung’s hand that was too close to pinching his cheek away. “Changbin is. Even Chan is more of a baby than I am!” 

Chan blinked in surprise but Jisung nodded. “Okay, you’re right.”

“What? Me?” The oldest pointed at himself, but before anyone could elaborate a couple of customers came in. On one hand Jeongin was glad, but on the other hand none of them were Felix, so not best case scenario.

The four of them got to work, Saturdays were never too busy, customers usually more spread out through the day, so that was nice. Today Felix came simultaneously with Minho and Seungmin and the fiancés came to chat with him before ordering. 

“Are you two going to match for our wedding?” Minho propped his arms up on the counter that Jeongin was cleaning. “My cute cousin and the cute barista— wait, uhm, maybe Jisung is the cute barista—” 

“ _I_ am cute!” Suddenly a small annoyance joined them. Jeongin rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Hi, Changbin!” Felix greeted the smaller with a kind smile and then he looked at Jeongin. “Do you want to match?” 

“Isn't that a couple thing— Wait! Are we a couple? Do _you_ want to match?” There were lots of questions. Did Jeongin even own a suit? What had he worn to his high school graduation again? Was he ready to call him and Felix a couple? 

“I don't know. I don't even own a suit.” Felix shrugged. “I know we've only been on one date, so maybe it's a bit early to match, but we can go shopping together? Tomorrow?” 

“Yes! I'd like that.” The blonde seemed to have heard and answered most of his silent questions as well, because Jeongin was quite sure he didn't own a proper suit. 

“I cannot believe you two do not own a suit.” Seungmin shook his head at them. 

“I don't think I have ever seen you in anything _other_ than a suit— No wait! I've seen you in button-ups that weren't a dress shirt on some Wednesdays! Or Saturdays—? Anyway— That isn't much different, though.” Jeongin retorted. “What I'm trying to say is that some people don't have to wear a suit for work or wear similar stuff outside of work.”

“Okay.” Seungmin said simply. 

Minho then finally straightened from where he had been leaning on the counter. “Okay, I'm ready for my iced americano. Is Jisung here today?” 

* * *

Jisung seemed pretty okay, given that he had just broken up with his fiancé slash best friend. And given the fact that said fiancé slash best friend had immediately kissed someone else after, although Seungmin didn’t know if he knew that. 

Seungmin told himself it had been an act of desperation, Hyunjin probably just needed some comforting. He felt a bit guilty he had kissed him back, even though he knew Jisung hadn’t had feelings for Hyunjin for a while, they had broken up only a couple of hours, maybe even less, before.

When the brown-haired boy joined them during his break, Seungmin pressed his lips together into a thin line and let Minho talk to him first. 

“Hey, Hannie. I’ve already asked how you’re doin’, so I’ll just let you decide the topic of conversation.” He took a sip of his iced americano and raised his eyebrows at the barista.

“I don’t really care what we talk about, I can ask you about your wedding or something, but if you guys have something else to talk about…” Jisung shrugged and took a bite of his lunch. Seungmin guessed this was his chance to ask if the boy knew about what happened yesterday. His hand were kind of sweaty.

“Uhm, I have something to ask you, about— about yesterday?” The sentence came out more as a question than a statement.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Did Hyunjin tell you that— about— uhh… about what happened? Yesterday?” He cursed himself for stumbling over his words like this, usually he was so good at keeping himself composed. He didn’t need to cause Jisung more worries by being this nervous.

“You mean that he kissed you…?” Jisung tried and Seungmin nodded while letting out a breath. It was a relief he already knew. “Yeah, he told me. It’s okay, Seungmin. He said it was a heat of the moment kinda thing, that he made a mistake. But— Even if he did do it because he likes you, it’s not like I don’t have feelings for your fiancé.”

Seungmin grimaced, it was nice that Jisung wasn’t angry at him or Hyunjin, but it kind of hurt to hear that Hyunjin thought it was a mistake to have kissed him. It shouldn’t hurt, kissing someone else not even a day after breaking up with someone you were pretty serious about is not exactly a smart or logical move.

He couldn’t deny having had a tiny little bit of hope that Hyunjin had felt something genuine as well, though.

“Okay, good.” He said, forcing a small smile. Jisung tilted his head at him, probably seeing right through the facade.

“He’s fine, Ji. Just a bit sulky because he feels guilty for liking Hyunjin.” Minho patted Seungmin’s shoulder and Seungmin shot his fiancé a venomous look. Minho rolled his eyes and whispered: “It’s the truth, though.”

“Oh really?” Jisung’s eyes went wide and Seungmin didn’t spot any other emotion than surprise in them. “Okay! I get it, Hyunjin’s pretty charming and sweet. I think you’ll be pretty good for him— If you guys ever end up together.”

“Really? I— I don’t think that’ll happen very soon, though. Hyunjin really liked you.” Seungmin cast his eyes down, feeling like he didn’t deserve Jisung’s kind and forgiving words so soon. He did suppose that Jisung had had some time to get over things by himself before breaking up, but it was still sweet that he said that Seungmin would be good for Hyunjin— those words coming from Hyunjin’s best friend himself meant a lot.

“We’ll see.” Jisung smiled, but it was bittersweet. The boy glanced to Minho shortly. He probably meant the words for him and Minho as well. “How’re things going with the wedding? Everything going according to schedule?”

“Almost everything. I still need to get myself an outfit…” Minho had been putting it off and Seungmin wondered if he was getting cold feet. Seungmin wondered the same about himself. 

Especially now that Hyunjin had kissed him, he began to wonder if he really just shouldn’t say ‘fuck everything, from now on I do what _I_ want’ and quit his job and try to become a singer because becoming a professional baseball player was certainly off the table now that the most exercise he gets is from walking the occasional flight of stairs. Then maybe Minho would be happier as well. 

Maybe he could ask Jisung, Changbin and Chan to write him a song.

“Seungmin’s parents have already had a suit made for him, so I just need one to match that. And maybe a new outfit for the reception?” Minho’s lips formed a thoughtful pout.

“I also still need an outfit, Hyunjin as well. Maybe we can come with you? Hyunjin is usually too lazy to go shopping, but he likes fashion. It may be a good distraction?” Jisung suggested.

“Sure, I’d like that.” Minho smiled at Jisung.

“Okay, I’ll ask Hyunjin if he’s up for it. Is Seungmin coming as well?” 

“Depends on if I’m working or not—” Seungmin began, but he was cut off by Minho.

“Why don’t you just take a day off to prepare for the wedding for once?” 

“Oh, uhm, yes. I can do that. Tomorrow?” He supposed it would be better if he was there as well. Not only because he knew what his own suit looked like, but also because if Hyunjin would come, it would be nice for him if there was someone else besides Jisung and Minho. Although he might not be the best option.

“Tomorrow’s good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am a big sap....


	21. I could use a lot. A wedding is not one of them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyunjin sighed deeply. “Minho do you want anything or not? At least try on something?”  
> His voice was bordering on exhaustion and Jisung supposed it was pretty draining to be shopping for this long.
> 
> “Sorry. I’m being unnecessarily stubborn about this.” Minho pressed his lips together apologetically. “I’ll hurry up.”
> 
> Jisung suggested going outside and taking a break with the raven haired boy, but he declined, waving him off with a tired smile. Jisung didn’t fail to see Seungmin glancing to them every once in a while as well. In no time, Minho had about three sets to try on and they made their way to the changing rooms.
> 
> “Woah, you really were stalling just now.” Jisung eyed the amount of clothes in Minho’s arms.
> 
> “Yeah, sorry. I just needed a little… uhh, motivation, I guess.” The choreographer chuckled emptily and got into one of the changing booths. He guessed Minho dreaded the wedding. Maybe Jisung did as well. Maybe even Seungmin dreaded it a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2min and hyunsung go shopping together, but only jisung is in the mood for it
> 
> seungmin is whipped
> 
> enjoooyY!!

Eventually Jisung had managed to get Hyunjin to come with them, he initially wanted to go apartment hunting on the web, but Jisung had said that would only make him more sad. He still had a couple of weeks, because Jisung had managed to get an extension with his landlord. Jisung also said that it wasn’t a good idea to let him decide an outfit for him, and it would be more fun with the four of them.

And Jisung may need him for his fashion sense.

He was also glad he would see Minho in his wedding suit before the wedding, maybe he wouldn’t cry, then. Because you couldn't blame him for crying, would he see Minho looking even more gorgeous than usual, because he was going to marry someone who he cared about and was thus willing to give up his own freedom to find love for. 

Gosh how Jisung wished those two weren't making a mistake by doing this. 

Hyunjin seemed to gain some energy during their shopping trip, luckily. Jisung even managed to make him smile a couple of times. He also even seemed to have gained his flow back in conversations with Minho, working together to make both Hyunjin and Seungmin smile at their inscrutable exchange of words. 

It was nice, having things seem okay for a while, just hanging out with his friends. They all picked out the most ridiculous pieces in the store for each other before looking more seriously.

“You— You should try this one! It  _ screams  _ Lee Know!” Jisung giggled as he grabbed a tie with a ridiculously obnoxious pattern on it and way too much colours. Minho let out a cackle and grabbed his hand to push it down. “What? Not a fan of red and yellow and teal and pink and whatever this colour may be?” 

“Why don't you buy it for me, then? As a wedding gift?” Minho smiled sickly sweet. 

“I won't, the surprise is already ruined if I buy it now.”

“Oh, don't worry about that, I  _ will  _ be surprised if I receive this from you.” 

Jisung kept that in the back of his mind, maybe he will buy it, just for fun.

When they finally had picked out some clothes to try on, they went for the changing rooms, Seungmin taking a seat just outside. Jisung and Hyunjin had just picked out a nice suit, Hyunjin a deep navy and a black one and Jisung was feeling bold, so he picked out a burgundy one and a dark grey one to be safe. Seungmin had helped them pick out the right size.

Minho had picked out some nice blouses and pants for the reception, as he was not yet satisfied with the white suits in this store. It didn’t take too long before they were satisfied with their outfits, both Hyunjin and Jisung eventually taking the more colourful suits out of the two.

Jisung made sure to sneakily include the colourful obnoxious tie when paying for his stuff.

They went to another store, one similar to the one where Seungmin’s parents had had his wedding suit made. Hyunjin and Jisung first tried helping Minho pick something, but eventually gave up, as either Minho gave their suggestions a very ambiguous judging look or Seungmin said it didn’t match well enough with his suit.

Hyunjin sighed deeply. “Minho do you want anything or not? At least try on something?”

His voice was bordering on exhaustion and Jisung supposed it was pretty draining to be shopping for this long.

“Sorry. I’m being unnecessarily stubborn about this.” Minho pressed his lips together apologetically. “I’ll hurry up.”

Jisung suggested going outside and taking a break with the raven haired boy, but he declined, waving him off with a tired smile. Jisung didn’t fail to see Seungmin glancing to them every once in a while as well. In no time, Minho had about three sets to try on and they made their way to the changing rooms.

“Woah, you really were stalling just now.” Jisung eyed the amount of clothes in Minho’s arms.

“Yeah, sorry. I just needed a little… uhh, motivation, I guess.” The choreographer chuckled emptily and got into one of the changing booths. He guessed Minho dreaded the wedding. Maybe Jisung did as well. Maybe even Seungmin dreaded it a bit.

After a while Hyunjin stood up and stretched his arms above his head. “Gonna go to the restroom, good luck, Minho.”

“Thanks!” It sounded from the changing room. Hyunjin walked out and Seungmin’s gaze lingered on his back before he lowered it to his hands folded on his lap. Jisung elbowed him lightly. 

“Give it some time.” He whispered, not really sure what he was referring to himself, but he thought it may reassure the brown-haired man. Seungmin smiled sheepishly and let out a somewhat affirming sound in response. He opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden buzzing of a phone interrupted him.

Seungmin frowned at his screen and then let out a breath. “Sorry, gotta take this. Be right back.” He then stood up and left the store, leaving Jisung behind alone with some shopping bags until Minho would finish changing.

When the choreographer stepped out of the booth, dressed fully in white, Jisung couldn’t hold back a gasp. Minho just grinned as Jisung slapped a hand in front of his mouth.  _ Gosh, I’m still embarrassing myself in front of him. Well, I can’t help he looks… gorgeous. _

“You like it?” He  _ twirled _ around for Jisung to see the whole outfit. He stopped to look at himself in the mirror, eyebrows knitted in thought. “Hmm… I don’t really know, though.”

“Why not?” Jisung got up to stand behind his friend and hold him by his shoulders. “You look great!”

Minho turned around in Jisung’s grip and leaned back against the mirror, causing the younger to almost fall forward against him. Minho looked up at him and Jisung felt heat creep up to his cheeks. He straightened himself and gave Minho an inquiring look.

“I don’t know, because I just don’t feel like it.” The older sighed. “I could really use one of your americanos right now.”

“You say that as if it’s an alcoholic drink or a cigarette or something.” Jisung chuckled as he fixed the slightly off-white waistcoat Minho was wearing, tugging it down. 

Before he could pull his hands away, Minho grabbed his wrists and pulled him closer. Jisung didn’t know what to do with his hands as Minho’s lightly placed his own on Jisung’s sides. He decided to just let them rest on the guy’s shoulders.

“I could also… also really use—” The choreographer’s eyes burned with something Jisung didn’t dare to name as they scanned Jisung’s features.  _ I could also really use a kiss, _ Jisung finished the sentence for himself in his head. He didn’t know if Minho was planning on saying that, but Jisung really wanted to kiss Minho. 

“Use what?” It came out as a whisper, barely audible, but he was so close to the other that it would be enough for him to hear. Minho clenched his jaw, taking his hands off of Jisung’s sides. 

“A lot.” He let his head fall back. “I could use a lot. A wedding is not really one of them.”

Minho then let out a soft groan and Jisung frowned, thinking of a way to somehow comfort the older. “You know what I could use?” 

Minho moved his head down again to meet Jisung's eyes, expression mostly blank, but it was the kind of blank he had whenever he wanted the other to continue speaking, but for some reason didn't feel like asking. 

“For one, I could use a car. I hate public transportation, you could probably tell. For a car I need a driver's license, but that's expensive. Still— Chan must be getting tired of driving me around.” Jisung spoke softly because he was still pretty close to Minho. He didn't know where he was going, but his mindless talking seemed to be distracting the older, which had been his ultimate goal.

“Seungmin has a car.” Minho said. 

“Can he drive?” 

“Yeah, he's not  _ that _ spoiled.”

“He's not really spoiled to begin with.”

“He's not that  _ rich _ .”

“Do you have a license?” 

“Yes. But I don't have a car. If I had one, I'd drive you around. For a fee.” Minho shrugged.

“For a fee? Chan does it for free, though.” Jisung lightly punched the older’s shoulder.

“It’s to motivate you to take lessons yourself.” A corner of Minho’s mouth quirked up. Jisung still had him somewhat caged against the mirror, but Minho now was successfully distracted from his earlier struggles. Jisung was glad. 

“What colour car?” Minho asked.

“Red.”

“Basic.”

“What about you then?”

“Yellow.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t I?”

Jisung scoffed, Minho’s slight smirk gave away that he wasn’t serious, so Jisung guessed he either didn’t know or care or his answer would be even more basic. It didn’t matter, though. 

“I could also use some  _ sushi _ . Jeez. I haven’t had sushi in… what is it? In too long.” Jisung really could use some nice sashimi, he realized.

“I’ll remember to make sure we have sushi at our buffet, then.” 

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“I could also use some more of your cooking.” 

“Now you’re pushing it.”

“Am I?”

Minho pushed Jisung away with a breathy chuckle.

“Now you’re pushing  _ me _ .” Jisung grinned.

“You’re the worst.” Minho’s words were harsh, but his expression was soft. Just at that moment, Hyunjin returned and Jisung thanked the lords that he wasn’t caging the older against the mirror anymore.

“You look nice. First outfit?” The taller asked and Minho nodded.

“Still waiting for Seungmin to approve or disapprove.” The older said.

Hyunjin made a face Jisung couldn’t quite read, it was something like pity, but not quite.

Soon after Seungmin returned as well and Minho got back into the changing room. He looked stunning in every single thing he tried on and with Seungmin’s input they eventually picked out a set. 

A bittersweet feeling washed over Jisung as he felt Minho’s hand brush his arm after paying. The older whispered a silent thanks after. Jisung was glad he had managed to lift the choreographer’s mood a bit. He hoped Hyunjin had had a little fun as well.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Seungmin sighed. He clicked his phone off and contemplated his options again. Then he sighed again, slumping back against the back of the couch. He unlocked his phone again, opening his messages and then closing the app again. He opened his contacts and scrolled through them, then sighing again.

“Jesus, Min. What’s up?” Minho appeared in front of him. “Is it something work-related? Hyunjin-related? Something else? You’ve been sighing at your phone ever since we finished dinner.”

Seungmin let his head fall back against the back of the couch, letting out a breath. “Kinda all of those.”

“It’s that bad?” Minho plopped down next to him, the cushions on the couch dipping down. 

“Don’t you have… uhm, regrets? We’re getting married in a couple of days. Ever since— Ever since you and Jisung developed… feelings for each other, I’ve been doubting this whole thing more and more. And— Ever since Hyunjin— Ever since our talk just before the double date— Ever since he kissed me— I— I don’t  _ want _ this. I don’t  _ want _ any of this. 

I don’t want to be a lawyer, it’s boring and tiring. I don’t want to marry someone who obviously has feelings for someone else. I don’t want to stand in the way of your happiness. I don’t want to pretend I don’t have feelings for Hyunjin. Even though I know he probably doesn’t like me and it’s way way way too soon for me to try anything. He said he made a mistake by kissing me and it hurts, but I want to tell him I didn’t think it was a mistake. I want to show him I know what I want and I can chase it.” 

Seungmin took a deep breath. He felt a bit lighter now that he said all of that out loud. He turned to Minho to gauge his reaction, but of course his expression didn’t give anything away.

“So? What are you going to do?” Minho tilted his head to the side in question. “Are you going to call your parents? Call off the wedding? Call Hyunjin again? Quit your job?”

“I don’t know yet. If I call off the wedding—” Seungmin cut himself off to look at his fiancé properly. “Do  _ you _ want that?”

“Are you asking me if I want you to call off the wedding?” 

“Yes?” Seungmin didn’t know what Minho meant by that. It probably meant his answer would differ, depending on the phrasing of the question, so if the answer was too vague he could always ask another one.

“I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.” This was exactly the kind of vague answer Seungmin meant.

“What would you do if I called off the wedding?” He instead decided on asking. Maybe this would help him decide.

“I would meet up with Jisung and tell him— uhm— I don’t know yet. I would just want to see him and then I’ll see what I’d do.” That was a pretty good answer. An answer Seungmin couldn’t imagine giving himself. Seungmin never winged things, everything he said, everything he did, was always with a plan, with a certain reasoning behind it. And it was always mostly to keep others satisfied, rather than himself.

“Why don’t you do that now?” He asked, trying to distract the older from the fact that the conversation was originally about him for a bit longer, while deciding what he should do himself.

“This is about  _ you _ , Min. Not m—”

“Just answer my question.”

“Fine. Because I’m afraid that if I’m alone with him without a plan for too long, things’ll go sideways.” Minho looked down, inspecting his hands. Seungmin stayed quiet in case he would continue. “When we went shopping— I was lucky he knew something to talk about, because I was  _ this _ close to just spilling my thoughts about the whole situation to him. And if I did that, who knows what he would say and I would do. I can tell you I would regret it.”

“Why?” 

“Seungmin!”

“Just this last question!”

“You know why, though.” 

“Do I?”

“Yes! I already told you why I’m not going to date while we are getting married!” Minho’s voice sounded strained and Seungmin got the hint not to push further.

“Okay. Sorry.” 

“You know what?” Minho stood up and faced the younger. “Why don't you just call Hyunjin and clear up anything you need or want to clear up and then decide if you want to take the big step towards talking back to your parents.”

“That’s a good idea.” Seungmin nodded and looked up at the older. “Hey, Minho. You know you can talk to me as well. About, uhm, the whole situation.” 

Minho nodded, but he didn’t look at him anymore. Seungmin supposed the conversation with Minho was over. This also meant he should call Hyunjin. Should he do it now? Would he be eating now? Sleeping early? 

He took a deep breath.  _ I won’t know unless I call. I need to hear it from him… if… if he is okay. _ He pressed call and saw Minho leave the room as soon as he brought the phone to his ear. His heart was beating fast as he waited for either Hyunjin to pick up or for it to go to voicemail.

_ “Hello? Seungmin?” _

Seungmin let out the breath he was holding. “Hey, Hyunjin.”

_ “What’s up? You doing okay?”  _ Hyunjin’s voice was low, so either he was tired or Jisung was sleeping or he was outside.

“Yeah, I’m doing okay. You?” Seungmin felt a bit uneasy that he was calling without a real plan. He definitely wasn’t used to doing this. 

_ “Sure. Jisung’s being really nice and considerate. It’s getting better. I’ll be in my usual spirits at your wedding, probably.” _

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad.” Seungmin felt a small smile tug at his lips. It was really good to hear that the other was starting to feel better.

_ “Why did you call?”  _ There was the dreaded but inevitable question. What does he answer?

“I was just wondering if you were okay.” 

_ “That’s very sweet of you, Minnie. You’re being a great friend to me, lately. I mean, I’m sure you’re always a great friend, but I feel like we're close enough that I can enjoy it. If that makes sense.”  _ Hyunjin chuckled and Seungmin followed, feeling a blush creep up his neck.

“It makes sense. Thank you, by the way.” He contemplated asking him about the kiss. Maybe he should wait just a little more. 

_“Sorry for kissing you, by the way.”_ Hyunjin said after a short silence, as if he had read his mind. Now, Seungmin's brain seemed to have blown a fuse. 

“No— It's… It's okay. I kissed you back—”  _ Fuck what am I saying?!  _ He silently slapped a hand to his forehead a couple of times.  _ This is why I always need a plan!  _ “It's okay, I mean.”

Hyunjin was silent on the other side and Seungmin wanted to crawl through the phone and see the other's expression. He didn't want him to see his red face, though. 

_ “Okay. Did you want to talk about anything else?”  _ Seungmin got absolutely no sign of any emotion other than maybe tiredness from the older's voice. 

“Not in particular.” He did, actually, but also he didn’t. He was suddenly way too jittery for this.

_ “Okay, I think I'll hang up then.” _

“It was nice talking to you.” Seungmin blurted out. 

_ “I think so too. Thanks for the call. See you later, good night, Minnie.” _ Was that a smile Seungmin heard? 

“Good night, Hyunjin.” He waited until Hyunjin ended the call before letting out a breath, his cheeks feeling warm.  _ Gosh, I feel like a freaking teenager who has a crush on the local pretty boy. I thought I was supposed to be a sophisticated adult who has his life figured out at twenty-three, but here comes Hyunjin, making me feel like a fourteen year old.  _

_ I'm totally not in the mood to call my parents right now. I feel like I haven't gotten any closer to coming to a decision about the wedding.  _ Seungmin stood up and made for the bedroom. 

“Hi, Min. How was your talk—” Minho greeted him but stopped when Seungmin threw himself face down on the bed. 

“Hynnjns mwkng mwe wusless.” He spoke into the sheets. 

“Hyunjin's making you useless? Did he say anything in particular?” 

Seungmin propped up his chin on the bed. “No, just thanked me for calling and called me sweet and wished me a good night.”

“And I thought I had it bad.” Minho laughed and ruffled the younger's hair. 

“Shut up.”

“Did you at least talk to him about the kiss?”

“Sort of.” Seungmin made a face. He had kinda screwed up when the topic came up, so he didn’t know if Hyunjin still thought it was a mistake. He probably did, though.

“Gosh, he really does make you useless, huh?” 

“Yes. But I don’t think he actually likes me… He apologized for kissing me.” Seungmin turned around to lie on his back. “I also really don’t feel like calling my parents, sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Minho laid down as well. It wasn’t fine. But maybe it was too late to do anything about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> seungmin whipped


	22. It'll be fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Let me see him, then.” Minho pushed Jisung aside lightly and walked over, only to fall over in laughter the very second he saw his fiancés look. He literally fell to the ground. Jisung hadn’t seen Seungmin yet as well, so he joined the boy on the floor after he fell down cackling.
> 
> “Jeongin! Felix! What have you done!” Seungmin opened his eyes, but both Jeongin and Felix quickly brought their hands in front of them. Felix’s heart jumped in giddiness as his hand brushed Jeongin’s and he offered the younger a smile that was returned with an even brighter one.
> 
> “Minho’s is at least as bad!” Felix exclaimed, giggling at the two on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hyunjin has something to tell minsung and felix is planning something for 2min!
> 
> enjooooyyy!

Hyunjin was feeling better. Now that dancing lessons had started again, this time with Minho, he felt like he was accepting how things were. He was just Jisung’s good friend, which wasn’t bad at all, actually. He had also started looking for an apartment now that he was earning more.

Every one of his friends had been really nice to him the last week and he felt like he needed to return the favour now. Of course he had already done his best to be considerate towards Jisung, but still. He had been pretty grumpy. 

The least thing he could do now was be a good friend back. That would start with making it clear to Minho and Jisung that he didn’t mind them dating. He was ready for it now, at least, he told himself that. Hyunjin wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but he wanted his friends to be happy. It also took him seeing and actually talking to Minho to get over his stupid jealousy.

“Hey, Minho?” He asked the older as they made their way to the café together for their break. 

“Yeah?” Minho quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Jisung has— He… Do you have feelings for him?” Hyunjin knew Minho had told Jisung he just wanted to be friends, but that was when they were still together. He had seen the way the older had looked at his friend whenever he thought Hyunjin wasn’t looking. 

“Yes.” Minho didn’t look at him. 

“It’s okay. I’m okay now, you guys have done nothing but be good to me, so the least I can do is let you guys be together.” Hyunjin bumped Minho’s shoulder to lighten the mood a bit. “Your situation is already complicated enough without me standing in your way.”

Minho chuckled. “Yeah. Thanks. But— The wedding’s literally in three days.”

“I know. But just so you know.” Hyunjin shrugged and kicked the curb a bit. Soon enough Seungmin caught up with them as they got to the coffee shop. The clicking of his shoes always gave him away, but he still always tried scaring them when running up to them. It was quite cute.

As soon as they got into the shop, Felix came jumping to them. “You guys need to keep Saturday evening free!” The boy grabbed each of their wrists and dragged them to a table to sit down.

“Woah, woah! Why?” Seungmin stumbled and sat himself down. 

“We are planning a bachelor’s party for you guys! Well— Uhm, you guys sort of have the same friends so we didn’t know if we should plan one party for you both or not.” Felix began rambling. “Oh, yeah, Hyunjin, do you want to help us plan? I’ll add you to the group.”

“Lix… You don’t have to plan us a bachelor’s party.” Minho rolled his eyes, but he was grinning.

“It’ll be fun!” Felix exclaimed as he typed away on his phone. Hyunjin felt his own phone buzz. “Channie will even make some sick beats for us!”

“You got Chan to help?” Seungmin asked and Felix nodded, eyes still on his phone.

“I also got the rest of the staff here, aka the rest of the producers and my soon to be boyfriend— I mean—” Felix’s eyes flicked up and down for a bit. “I mean Changbin, Jisung and Jeongin are in on this as well.” 

_ Jisung too? Oh woah. Although, it’s not that surprising if Chan and Changbin are in on it as well. _ Felix then put his phone away and looked up. “Again, it’ll be fun! So keep the evening free!”

“It’s not really a bachelor’s party if we’re celebrating it together, is it?” Seungmin chuckled. “But then again, an unconventional bachelor’s party for an unconventional marriage is pretty fitting.”

“Should I invite some people from back home or nah?” Felix asked.

“Nah. Let’s just keep it at the coffee shop employees, my coworker slash student, my cousin and my literal fiancé. That’s the best crowd for a bachelor’s party, duh.” Minho was completely stone-faced, but when Hyunjin asked him if he was joking or not he burst out in laughing. “I’m not joking, you guys are great company, no need for anyone else.”

That was pretty sweet of him to say. Minho was pretty sweet in general. He was glad to have a friend and teacher like him. He would be good to Jisung, Hyunjin thought. That reminded him to tell Jisung about his recent acceptance of the situation. He got up. 

“I’m going to look for Jisung for a bit. Can I take your orders? I already know Minho’s, though.” He listened to what Seungmin wanted and then left, since Felix had already finished his drink. He greeted Jeongin at the counter.

“Hi, Hyunjin! I saw you’re joining us in planning the party! Fun!” The boy smiled his cute and bright smile at him and it made Hyunjin happier immediately. 

“Hi! Yeah, I haven’t read any messages or plans, though. Uhh... Can I get a tea, an iced americano and a regular americano?” 

“Yeah, sure. I’m guessing you want a Jisung iced one?” Jeongin asked and Hyunjin nodded. Jeongin disappeared to the back and reappeared with his smaller coworker, who smiled as a greeting. 

“Hi, Ji!” 

“Hey. How was practice so far?” The younger asked as he started preparing the drinks. Hyunjin leaned his hands on the counter.

“Pretty fun. I forgot how much dancing helps.” He mused as he watched Jisung work. “I also asked Minho about his feelings for you and told him it’s okay if you guys wanna date.”

Jisung whipped his head to the taller, eyes wide. “You—? Really? You did that?”

“Yeah.” Hyunjin said simply. “You guys really like each other and make each other happy.”

The smile Jisung gave him was such a genuine and soft one that Hyunjin felt the bitter in his bittersweet feelings fade. “Thanks, Hyunie.”

“No problem. You don’t need my permission, but I wanted you to know I’m doing better.”

“I kinda do feel like I need your permission, though, haha! I’m really glad you’re feeling better. I’d give you a hug if we weren’t separated by a couple of counters and a coffee-maker.” Jisung grinned and Hyunjin mirrored it. He actually was looking forward to the bachelor’s party now.  _ It’ll be fun, indeed. _

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Sit still!” 

“Stop poking my eye then!”

“It’s because you’re not sitting still!”

“Why are we even doing this…?” Seungmin sighed as Jeongin forcibly tilted his head to the right angle. Changbin was cackling in the background. 

“Stop complaining and hand me the fluffy brush.” Jeongin held out his hand and cocked his head toward the small table next to Seungmin. 

“I thought I needed to keep my head still!” Seungmin huffed and Jeongin almost poked his eye again. “I honestly don’t know why I agreed to this. What are you guys even doing to my face?”

“I’ll get it for you, Innie.” Felix picked out a fluffy brush and handed it to the younger. “Minho is getting the same treatment so you can laugh at him later as well… Wait— Changbin? Did you leave Jisung alone there?”

“Yes— I was getting a stomach ache so I came here for a while but it isn’t any better over here! I’ll go back, don’t worry.” Changbin giggled in between his words, cackling as he left again. 

“Lixie you wanna do his cheeks?” Jeongin offered the freckled boy the brush. 

“Yeah, I’ll make him look very pretty.” Felix grinned and rubbed his hands together mischievously. Seungmin was already looking pretty ridiculous, since Jeongin had absolutely ruined his eyes while putting on eyeshadow and eyeliner, he had slipped up a couple of times, getting eyeshadow on the boy’s eyebrows and nose, but he didn’t really feel like tidying up too much. Seungmin had refused mascara, yelling at them until they would give up. 

Felix made sure to make the boy’s cheeks as red as he could, as well as his nose. It was pretty cute, to be honest. He almost poked Seungmin’s eye as well when Changbin and Jisung came in while shrieking.

“It’s not  _ that _ bad! Don’t kill us!” Jisung was screaming and Felix had a hard time concentrating, he then remembered Seungmin wasn’t supposed to see Minho before seeing himself, so he quickly covered his eyes.

“Just  _ wait _ , Minho! Wait until you see Seungmin! Please!” Changbin squeaked and hid himself behind the seat that Seungmin was sitting in, hands clasping the backrest tightly. Felix blinked at the smaller boy in surprise and turned around to see his cousin with a hairbrush threateningly raised above his head.

He laughed at the look while he heard Jeongin yelling at Seungmin to keep his eyes closed. His cousin’s eyes were decorated with heavy black liner and pink eyeshadow, which made it look like he was permanently squinting— or was he really squinting? His lips were coloured a bright red and his cheeks were dusted with an orangey pink that clashed with both his lips and eyes. His face was completely covered with glitter on top of that. Quite a look.

It was definitely different from Seungmin’s eclectic look. Felix and Jeongin had gone for mossy green combined with dark purple and white eyeshadow, which was applied in a wide range around his eyes as well— maybe it looked a bit like he had two black eyes— and the smoky eyeliner didn’t help his cause. The bright red blush Felix had been applying also didn’t make him look less like he was beaten up, but it had something cute too. They still had to decide on a colour for his lips, though.

“Let me see him, then.” Minho pushed Jisung aside lightly and walked over, only to fall over in laughter the very second he saw his fiancés look. He literally fell to the ground. Jisung hadn’t seen Seungmin yet as well, so he joined the boy on the floor after he fell down cackling.

“Jeongin! Felix! What have you done!” Seungmin opened his eyes, but both Jeongin and Felix quickly brought their hands in front of them. Felix’s heart jumped in giddiness as his hand brushed Jeongin’s and he offered the younger a smile that was returned with an even brighter one.

“Minho’s is at least as bad!” Felix exclaimed, giggling at the two on the floor. 

“I shouldn’t have agreed… Where are Hyunjin and Chan even? Why couldn’t they do me?” Seungmin slumped in his chair. 

“They’re preparing things!” Jeongin was rummaging in the bag of make-up they had bought, probably looking for some lipstick. 

Suddenly Minho shot up. “Did you let them into our apartment, Felix? Is that why you asked if you should make a spare key for us?” 

Felix couldn’t help but laugh at the older, he really couldn’t take him seriously with such a face. Jeongin was asking Jisung if they had any fun coloured lipstick left and Changbin had come out from behind the chair to laugh at either Minho or Seungmin as well. 

“God damnit! Stop laughing and answer, Lix!” Minho came over to shake him. “I think we deserve revenge for this! Give me some eyeliner!”

Minho became distracted by trying to attack Jisung and Changbin with make-up and forgot about his question. Hyunjin and Chan were indeed in Seungmin and Minho’s apartment to decorate the place there. They were chosen to do that since they could be trusted not to make a mess. 

“Jeongin, Felix, can I please open my eyes? If what I think is happening is happening— If Minho is chasing Jisung and Changbin with eyeliner— I  _ need  _ to see that!” Seungmin had been opening his eyes every time either of the three boys had let out a yell, cackle or a grunt, but either Jeongin or Felix had quickly blocked his view. 

“Be patient for a little longer! If you'd stop talking I can apply your lipstick safely and at least somewhat on your lips.” Jeongin nagged at the brown-haired boy, who sighed and relented. Jeongin applied the plum-coloured lipstick and he and Felix admired their work for a second before holding up a mirror in front of Seungmin and telling him he could open his eyes. 

Seungmin let out the loudest cackle Felix had ever heard coming from him. “This is  _ horrible _ ! Ya!!” He stood up and reached for the bag of make-up. 

“Wait! Wait, Minnie! Just look at Minho!!” Felix tried to stop him from taking revenge by putting the situation into perspective. When Seungmin and Minho met eyes they both almost fell over laughing at each other. Felix now also noticed Changbin and Jisung had  _ 'idiot'  _ written across their faces in shaky eyeliner writing, Jisung also sported some sort of whiskers while Changbin had a big X on his forehead, and he took a hold of Jeongin's shaking shoulders to stabilize himself while laughter knocked the air out of his lungs. 

“Removing any make-up is a big nono tonight and anyone who does so will get punished accordingly!” Jeongin announced as soon as he had somewhat regained his composure after laughing. This resulted in protests and attacks upon Felix and Jeongin, who had been make-upless as of yet. 

After a lot of struggling, yelling and debating, Felix ended up with a fake beard and mustache drawn on his face and Jeongin with some real thick eyebrows and fake wrinkles. They were debating what to do with Chan and Hyunjin's faces while getting changed into some ridiculous outfits they bought either at the thrift store or at a cheap party costume store. When Chan called that they were finished and dressed, they left Changbin's apartment and got on their way to Minho and Seungmin's. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time continuation of the bachelor's party!


	23. Please ruin my lipstick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungmin took a quiet shot, but of course Jeongin had seen him.
> 
> “Seungmin, you again?!” Jeongin exclaimed.
> 
> “Yo, Jeongin! Why do you keep calling me out?” Seungmin grumbled back at the youngest. Minho supposed these questions were quite exposing of Seungmin’s feelings, although the rest didn’t know from when this was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bachelor party continuation! they play never have i ever!
> 
> enjoooyyy!

To be honest, both Minho and Seungmin had had their doubts about having a bachelor’s party, but so far it had been nothing but fun. After an hour or so Minho had gotten used to having lips full of lipstick and a face full of glitter. He couldn’t get used to seeing Seungmin with his face ruined like that, though, laughter bubbling up in his throat every time he glanced at the younger.

When they arrived at their apartment, which had been decorated with cheap garlands and balloons, it took about ten minutes for both Chan and Hyunjin to stop laughing. Those two were also wearing ridiculous outfits, but their faces were still a little too empty for Minho’s liking. 

Their laughter had made it easier for the other six to attack them with eyeliner, but it also made for more shaky drawings. They gave Hyunjin some nice round glasses and added the words  _ ‘dance Hwang’ _ on his cheeks and for Chan they decided on a big exaggerated mustache to match Felix and angry eyebrows.

“Sorry we had to invade your apartment. It was too late to reserve anything anywhere else, so we hope you guys don’t mind playing games here.” Felix apologized, but Minho was actually thankful for that. He didn’t want them to go all out for a marriage both Minho and Seungmin were starting to dread more and more. He also didn’t want anyone else to see him with a face like this.

“No, it’s fine. I am  _ not _ going out again with this face.” Seungmin gestured wildly at his face, making a couple of his friends laugh again. 

Changbin started up the playlist and they gathered around the coffee table to play a drinking game. They started off with Never Have I Ever, a classic. Chan filled each of their glasses with some kind of drink Minho was sure they didn’t have in their house before.

“Who wants to start?” Jeongin looked around at the group. Hyunjin quickly raised his hand.

“Ooh! Me! I know one!” He grinned at the group— at Jisung specifically? “Never have I ever proposed to someone!”

Jisung rolled his eyes and scrunched his face. “You meanie!” He sighed before downing the drink, Seungmin following silently as well as Minho watched with a satisfied smile.

“Oh? So Seungmin proposed?” Chan quirked an eyebrow at them. “Well, it was to be expected, I guess, but do tell us the story!”

“It was really nothing special.” “It was absolutely romantic!” They said at the same time, Seungmin the former and Minho the latter. Minho had been a hundred percent sarcastic, of course.

“Seungmin literally just told me he had to marry me and threw the box with the ring at me. I had to force him to at least get on one knee.” Minho gave his friends a sheepish look.

“I was wearing a suit and he was wearing track pants. It was honestly worth laughing.” Seungmin chuckled. “I did get on one knee eventually.”

They had all heard the story of Jisung proposing to Hyunjin, which  _ was _ actually pretty romantic, even though it had been more of a proposal out of desperation to help out a friend than out of something else. Jisung was a really good friend— he had also been a really good boyfriend from what it sounded like— but Minho really shouldn’t be thinking about that right now.

“Okay, I have one too.” Chan was already half laughing as he spoke. “Never have I ever— Never have I ever been engaged.”

“Ya! Channie! This is a direct attack!” Jisung exclaimed, raising his eyebrows at Chan in an offended manner, but the older just laughed. Seungmin muttered something along the lines of things not being funny while sporting a sour face as he downed his second drink. Minho and Hyunjin clinked their glasses together before throwing back their heads and swallowing the drink. It left a light burn in his throat.

“Blegh.” Jisung shuddered. “When is the pizza coming, by the wa—”

Just as Jisung said that, the buzzer for downstairs rang and Felix shot up. “That should be it! I’ll be right back!”

Jeongin scrambled after the boy, exclaiming he would come help. It was cute. 

“Yeah, let’s eat in between, I’ll also grab some water, so we don’t get too wasted.” Chan stood up and it felt like they all had made this apartment their home already, despite half of them being here for the first time. Minho didn’t mind, though. These six people had made his life significantly better, albeit a little more complicated as well.

Felix and Jeongin returned with five large boxes of pizza and a bag of bread, sauce and other side dishes, which they splayed out across the big coffee table together with some extra glasses for water. 

“Okay, we all ready again? I have a good one.” Changbin clapped his hands together. “Never have I ever wanted to kiss someone in this room on the lips.”

Loud protests erupted again, from Jisung and Jeongin mainly. Changbin ignored it and high fived Chan. Minho sighed as well, there had been lots of occasions where he had wanted to kiss Jisung on his lips, but also on his cheeks, on his forehead, his nose, anywhere, really. If Changbin had just rephrased the sentence such that it was ‘Never have I ever  _ kissed _ someone in this room on the lips’, then he wouldn’t have to drink.

_ Another one for me _ , he thought as he downed another shot. Everyone except for Chan and Changbin took a shot, Seungmin with an extra sour expression.

“Wait— Seungmin, you too?!” Jeongin gasped. Minho discreetly checked Hyunjin’s expression, but he saw nothing other than surprise at first, but he didn’t want to stare too long.

“Yes. Let’s move on.” Seungmin picked up a piece of bread and shoved it into his mouth.

“You’re not going to give us the details? Tell us who? Did you secretly want to kiss Minho one time? Did you have a secret crush on me when—?” Felix asked.

“I don’t have to explain, right?” The brown haired boy swallowed his piece of bread and looked at Felix with a pretty impressive neutral expression. They all looked at each other and shrugged, it wasn’t part of the game to explain, necessarily. 

“Never have I ever written a song.” Felix said. 

“I hate this game.” Jisung grumbled as he downed his fourth shot of the game, coughing a bit after. Minho grinned, but he was also a bit worried about him. 

Chan and Changbin took a shot as well and after Chan set down his glass he poured Jisung some water. “Okay let’s add the rule that after three consecutive drinks you have to take a water shot next time you drink, we don’t want anyone passing out here. Seungmin you can take the next one a water one as well.”

“Couldn’t you have said that  _ before _ I took my fourth consecutive shot?!” Jisung pouted at the older. 

“You can take the two next ones a water shot then.” Chan patted his shoulder.

“I call favouritism!” Felix pointed a finger at Chan and Jeongin and Changbin began protesting as well.

“Okay! Okay! Let’s do a vote then. Who thinks Jisung can take the next two shots with water?” Chan threw his hands up in defeat and kept one hand raised to vote yes. Jisung and Felix also raised their hand and they all gave Felix a confused look.

“What? Just because I called favouritism doesn’t mean I think he can’t do it.” Felix said. 

“Guys…!” Jisung pouted again and Minho was really tempted to just raise his hand, so he did, simultaneously with Hyunjin. “Oh! Oh! I have five votes now! I can do it! No taking back! Let’s move on!”

Minho chuckled at how Jisung bounced excitedly on the floor and he caught Hyunjin doing the same, but that didn’t mean anything, because even Felix laughed at the cute boy. 

“My turn! Never have I ever seen any of you naked.” Jeongin slammed his hand on the table to emphasize his words or get everyone’s attention or something.

“I hate all of you.” Jisung poured himself some water. Minho sighed, the curse of living with someone is that you ought to see them naked sometime or another, unless you wanna be weirdly careful or something. Minho preferably slept naked, so Seungmin couldn’t get out of seeing him naked, but Minho had also seen Seungmin. Felix had also seen him naked, Minho didn't care that much, they were family after all. 

To Jeongin's delight, everyone had to take a shot. Apparently Chan, Changbin, Jisung and Hyunjin had some embarrassing college stories that Minho had to remind himself to ask about later on. Now it was either his or Seungmin or Jisung's turn to ask a question. 

“Time to let Jeongin clench his thirst a bit as well.” Minho rubbed his hands together. “Sorry, Lix, but never have I ever written code.”

“Betrayal!” Felix took a shot and Jeongin followed, both grimacing from the strong taste. Immediately after, Jeongin picked up a slice of pizza and fed it to Felix before taking a piece for himself. 

“Seungmin! Jisung! Which one of you first? You guys probably have a good one.” Hyunjin held his glass out to the two. Seungmin glanced at the smaller before opening his mouth, closing it and opening it again. 

“I may have one… uhh— Never have I ever… done anything sexual with someone.” Seungmin stuttered and immediately after he finished everyone began talking through each other. It was a good one, Minho thought, although he hadn't expected it to come from the disciplined people pleaser Seungmin. 

“Guys! Quiet! Everyone knows what I mean with it!” The boy urged the rest to stop the yelling. He raised his eyebrows. “Drink up.”

“I still hate everyone here— except for maybe Minho and Chan.” Jisung complained as he took another shot of water. Lucky man. Minho downed a shot and Chan and Hyunjin followed. 

“Wait, Channie— Sung— Hyunie—” Changbin frowned while staring into the distance and slapped in his three friends' direction. “Have I—?” 

“Yes, dude!” Hyunjin yelled. 

“Remember when you and Chan thought it was a good idea to get wasted and write a song, but you went drinking at this bar and—” Jisung gestured excitedly around. 

“YES! Okay! I remember now! Please stop speaking!” Changbin squeaked out the first couple of words, face bright red, before downing a shot as well. Hyunjin and Jisung cackled at Chan's red ears and probably the memory as well? Minho should definitely hear more about this. 

“Did you do it with Chan, or…?” Jeongin tried, but got no answer. “How many of you did it with someone in the room? Well— Minho obviously didn't— Although—?” 

“No! Not with anyone from here.” Minho scoffed and gritted his teeth. He didn't like thinking about the times he's gotten sexual with people. 

“That wasn't the question anyway, we don't have to say anything about that.” Jisung added. “Let's move on! It's my turn. Uhh… Never have I ever been to a party, bar or club without a friend.”

A lot of groaning erupted again as everyone except for Hyunjin took a shot. The tall dancer seemed to be thinking hard. “Did that one time I went with Yeji from dance count? Was I friends with her then? I think I became friends with her on that party. Does that count?”

“Oh… uhh… I don’t know?” Jisung tilted his head and brought a finger to his chin. “If you went to the party without her being your friend yet then I think it counts? So drink up, I guess.”

Hyunjin sighed and downed a shot. 

“I’m going to ask it again, guys. Seungmin? You too?” Jeongin raised his eyebrows at the taller.

“Yeah, you know those office parties… I also went in college once because… law students…” He sighed. “I thought it could be fun, but… law students…”

The first round had gone by and no one was drunk yet, so far so good. Seungmin and Jisung had had to drink the most so far, but they had been drinking water and eating enough in between. They all voted yes for another round, though, so someone was bound to at least get pretty tipsy.

“Okay, I’m not throwing shade or anything, no hard feelings, but I’m getting kinda tipsy so I don’t really care anymore… and it’s funny when Jisung has to drink, so—” Hyunjin giggled.

“Ask the question, Jinnie!” Changbin urged the taller, who sighed.

“I was  _ just  _ about to!” Hyunjin reseated himself slightly. “I will emphasize I’m not mad about it, so yeah. Never have I ever had feelings for someone while committed to someone else.”

_ Ouch. _ “Oh! This is my third time in a row, so next one I’m gonna drink water. More water.” Minho immediately poured himself a glass of water and grabbed some bread, feeling the warm from drinking. Jisung let out another groan, which made Chan and Hyunjin giggle, before downing another drink. Seungmin took a quiet shot, but of course Jeongin had seen him.

“Seungmin, you again?!” Jeongin exclaimed.

“Yo, Jeongin! Why do you keep calling me out?” Seungmin grumbled back at the youngest. Minho supposed these questions were quite exposing of Seungmin’s feelings, although the rest didn’t know from when this was.

“Is it the same person you want slash wanted to kiss?” Hyunjin asked. Was he onto something?

“Guys… I don’t have to answer anything other than by drinking or not drinking.” The boy shoved another piece of bread into his mouth and avoided anyone’s gaze. 

They played another couple of questions before they decided to stop, since the alcohol was getting too much, the creativity started to run out and Hyunjin couldn’t stop laughing at Seungmin and Minho’s faces anymore. Chan urged everyone to eat and drink enough while Changbin fidgeted with his phone to turn the music up and started jumping to the rhythm.

“Time to dance!” He shouted and Hyunjin was quick to join. Minho took his time to eat a bit more before joining the rest in dancing to songs he had never heard before, dancing with each one of his friends, giving a show to the rest when he danced with Seungmin, embarrassing his fiancé the best he could.

He enjoyed watching almost as much as dancing himself, though. His friends were surprisingly creative when tipsy, Chan showed some great moves. Jisung was not very surprisingly… sexy? 

After God knows how long they got a call from their neighbours asking if they could turn down the music soon, so they did. Minho almost fell down, his legs giving up on him as soon as he stopped dancing. He now noticed Felix and Jeongin were gone, but when he looked around he saw two figures kissing in the kitchen and it all made sense again.

He slumped back against the couch and closed his eyes for two seconds until he felt the cushions dip next to him. Minho cracked one eye open and saw Jisung sitting next to him, pretty close, but not quite leaning his head on Minho’s shoulder. 

“Hi, idiot.” Minho greeted him casually, referring to the word on the younger’s face. 

“Hi there.” Jisung answered with a chuckle, letting his head roll to the side to face the older, his hair falling into his face. Minho brushed the strands out of his face again, letting his fingers linger in the boy’s hair for a second, until the butterflies were making too much of a fuzz. 

Jisung kept grinning and Minho remembered he too was still wearing a full face of make-up, which was probably smudged by sweat from dancing.

“You drunk?” Minho asked and Jisung shook his head.

“Not really, ate a lukewarm piece of pizza a minute ago, so I’m pretty much sobering up.” The boy was still leaning back against the couch, his cheek slightly squished against the back cushion. “I haven’t even ruined your lipstick while being almost drunk. Nice, huh?”

Minho chuckled. “The night isn’t over yet.” He whispered without much thought. When he realized that he had actually said that out loud, he turned to look at the younger, whose face was blank.

“Is that… a challenge?” Jisung straightened slowly and frowned at the older.  _ Is it?  _

“I don’t know.” He confessed.

“Do you— Do you  _ want _ me to kiss you?” Jisung tried, expression hesitant.

“What kind of question is that.” It seemed Minho’s brain-to-mouth filter was gone. “Of course I want that.”

“I thought you wanted to stay friends…?” Jisung obviously didn’t understand as he looked at Minho with a confused expression. The older rubbed a hand along his face and a mess of pink, red and black mixed with glitter was left behind on it.

“Yeah, I wanted that. But that was before— before you broke up with Hyunjin and before Hyunjin told me he didn’t mind it if we dated. Because—” He took a deep breath. He hadn’t planned on spilling it all the literal night before his wedding, but the way Jisung was looking at him— with those dark round eyes that reflected the faint light illuminating the living room so beautifully— it was too much. Maybe the alcohol played a role too.

“Because before I had a million reasons to stay friends with you and only one to want you to kiss me: because I was interested in you. And now— Now I have only one reason to stay friends with you— a marriage doomed to fail— and I have a million and one reasons why I want— why I want  _ you _ . Why I like you.”

Jisung’s eyes grew wide and Minho’s heartbeat accelerated to a pace it usually only reached after a good round of exercise. Jisung’s cheeks were getting pinker by the second and his lips were slightly parted in shock. “You—? Gosh, Minho! You can’t just say that!”

“What? Why?” Now it was Minho’s turn to be confused as Jisung huffed and puffed his cheeks— Which was way cuter than it should be. 

“Because I’ll lose immediately! Why do you think I felt all accomplished that I hadn’t kissed you tonight?” Jisung sighed dramatically.

“You aren’t scared off by my horrendous face?” Surely Jisung was joking. Surely he wasn’t  _ actually _ shaking his head at this question.

“No. It’s not because of your face I want to kiss you, you stupid!” Jisung rolled his eyes as if his words were trivial. He then turned his whole body to face Minho, crossing his legs under him. He cupped Minho’s face and turned it so that they were looking straight at each other.

“Do you think you’re the only one who has a million reasons to like someone? Because my tipsy ass can and will list a  _ lot _ of reasons to like you other than your face if you don’t stop me. First of all you're  _ so so  _ kind, you notice the small things that usually matter more than the obvious things—”

“You’re really going to list things?” Minho felt flustered both from Jisung’s words and from how close he was. 

“Yeah. I kinda warned you.” Jisung shrugged and continued. “Second of all, you’re funny, like, really funny. Like, making me belly laugh funny, you know? And you’re— uhh— weird, but not in a bad way. In a good way actually, a way that’s interesting, a way that fits me. And—”

Minho didn’t want to hear anymore and, curse their earlier conversation about kissing, because now the only way Minho could think of shutting him up was kissing him. And thus he surged forward, placing a very short and kind of sticky kiss on Jisung’s lips. 

“Oh.” The younger said. A red stain of lipstick was left on Jisung’s lips.  _ Oh. _ “Uhh—! Technically I’m not the one who ruined your lipstick now, so—”

“Jisung.” Minho stopped him. The boy really needed to talk less. “Please ruin my lipstick.”

“Are— Are you sure?” Jisung blinked, knitting his eyebrows in slight concern. Minho appreciated it, but he kind of needed Jisung to kiss him without thinking right now. Tonight was his bachelor’s party, time to do things he would regret. (Or not regret?)

“Yes.” He said, trying his best to keep his voice steady and sure. Jisung brought a hand to Minho’s face and wiped his lips with it, smudging his lipstick, but not in the way Minho had meant. “Jisung! You know what I meant!”

“Sorry! You just had some glitter on your lips so I—”

“Please shut up and kiss me.” Minho wrapped his arms around Jisung’s waist and pulled him even closer than they already were. Jisung went slightly cross-eyed trying to keep looking at the older, but soon his eyes flicked down to his lips.

“Will do.” Jisung shifted a bit in Minho’s hold to return his hands to cup Minho’s face again before softly connecting their lips. Minho secretly thanked Jisung for wiping his lips before, because this kiss was way less sticky than the previous one.

It was a hesitant and slow kiss at first, but it already made Minho feel all cozy and warm. Jisung was softly dragging his thumbs along Minho's cheeks and they slowly started moving more against each other. When Minho moved back for some air, Jisung chased him and they were kissing again in mere seconds. 

Gosh, Jisung was a great kisser, did he know that? Minho couldn't get enough of it and the way that seemed to be exactly what Jisung thought as well made him feel like he was actually on fire. The younger's hands were now in his hair and— Jesus Christ, Minho needed some air. And he needed Jisung to know. 

“Did you know you're  _ great  _ at this?” Minho gasped out of the kiss and blurted the words out as if he had  _ 'idiot'  _ written on his face. Jisung full on laughed at his face, but maybe the way he was still giddy from the kiss made it that he didn't care. Maybe it was Jisung, though. Or he was getting old. 

Or Jisung just thought he was joking. “Don't laugh. I'm not kidding.”

He was not. It had been a while since he had kissed someone whom he actually liked. It had been a while since someone had kissed him who actually liked him. He wasn’t in the mood to let Jisung know that with words right now. He’d show his gratitude by kissing him some more.

“You're not?” Jisung immediately stopped laughing, which somehow made the situation even more awkward. 

“No. It was awkward of me to say, but— I'm serious— Anyway!” Minho already had enough of talking again and leaned forward to steal another kiss, but his lips were met with a toothy smile. He leaned back and couldn't hold back a smile of his own as he saw Jisung's cute heart smile. 

“You're lipstick is really all smudged now.” The younger snickered. “Cute.”

“Says you.”

“That's right.” 

Minho tried again, this time checking if Jisung was ready. They languidly kissed for a while longer, Minho switching his brain off, but making sure to remember and preserve the feeling. When they were tired and breathless and Minho's lips weren't only red from lipstick anymore, he laid down, taking Jisung with him. 

Minho closed his eyes and focused on the faint sound of music playing and the sound of soft chatter, but most importantly on the weight of Jisung’s body on his own, keeping him grounded. He wouldn’t mind staying like this for the whole night.

“Minho?” A soft whisper muffled by his blouse. 

“Yeah?” 

“Might fall asleep.”

“'s okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soft


	24. It's never too late, I think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Anyways— Why are you sitting here all alone, sulking?”
> 
> “I’m not sulking.” Seungmin grumbled.
> 
> “You kinda are.” 
> 
> “Okay, maybe a bit.”
> 
> “Do you want to talk about it with uncle Jeongin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more events at the bachelor's party!

Seungmin sat on the floor, Chan, Changbin and Hyunjin were still dancing, Minho and Jisung were talking or something on the couch and Jeongin and Felix had moved to the kitchen to kiss or whatever. Minho was sitting very close to Jisung, they probably weren’t too far away from kissing themselves.

Seungmin sighed, crossing his arms around his legs. The night had been pretty fun— really fun, actually, but it had also been confronting. He was afraid Hyunjin had caught onto his feelings for him. He was now feeling a bit down, a bit melancholic, seeing Minho look at Jisung like he was doing right now. _They are_ definitely _going to kiss._

And he was right. When they did he looked away. Not too long after, someone came to sit next to him. 

“Hi.”

“Huh? Hey, Jeongin.” Seungmin watched as Jeongin got comfortable on the floor next to him. “I thought you were— uhm, busy. With Felix?”

“I was. But we don’t wanna go too far, you know? We’re not even official yet.” Jeongin shrugged. “We had a good half an hour or so of kissing haha!”

“You’re not?” Seungmin thought they would be by now.

“No, he said he wanted to ask me but he also couldn’t stop giggling at my face. I’m kinda glad because if he had just asked me without warning I would definitely have done something super embarrassing.” Jeongin smiled widely and it made Seungmin feel a bit better for some reason. “Anyways— Why are you sitting here all alone, sulking?”

“I’m not sulking.” Seungmin grumbled.

“You kinda are.” 

“Okay, maybe a bit.”

“Do you want to talk about it with uncle Jeongin?” Jeongin tilted his head at Seungmin and Seungmin couldn’t help but laugh. “Or do you wanna talk to someone else?”

Seungmin didn’t really want to talk to anyone he usually came to, so maybe spilling it to the younger would be nice. He took a deep breath. He could trust Jeongin. “I don’t wanna marry Minho.” 

Jeongin was silent, waiting for him to continue. “I mean, look at him and Jisung.”

“Yeah, I saw…” The younger nodded. “Is there also another reason you don’t want to marry Minho? Like— A more selfish reason, maybe?”

Now Seungmin was silent. _There are a million selfish reasons I don’t want to marry Minho._

“You don’t have to tell me—”

“Hyunjin and I kissed.” There. There he said it. Jeongin’s eyes went wide for a second before he frowned.

“When? Why? Do you like him?” The boy’s eyes flicked to Hyunjin for a second before scanning Seungmin’s face. Now that he said it he could just as well spill everything.

“It was the day Jisung broke up with him. He— I called him to check up on him and then I came to see him to comfort him and— uhm, then he kissed me. And I kissed him back, like the idiot I am.” He let out a sigh at the memory. “I mean— He obviously did that because he was sad and confused. He really liked Jisung, there’s no way he actually wanted to kiss me. And I stopped it eventually, of course. But— God damnit. I just can’t forget about it.”

“Have you talked to _him_ about this? To anyone?” Jeongin asked.

“Minho and Jisung know about my— my feelings. Hyunjin only apologized for kissing me a couple of days later.” 

“Well, maybe you should talk to him about it then. At least call off the wedding, because— I’m assuming Minho also doesn’t really want to marry you.” Jeongin nodded toward the couch, where Jisung lied in Minho’s arms.

“I can’t do that _now_ — It’s too late.” Seungmin sighed. He really should have called it off earlier. 

“It’s never too late, I think.” Jeongin shrugged as if they were talking about switching up what you want to eat for dinner, instead of calling off a wedding. Before Seungmin could explain that it kind of really was too late, Hyunjin came crashing down next to them.

“Hey guys.” He was slightly panting as he ran his fingers through his hair. It was way too attractive for this hour. 

“Hi, ‘Jin.” Jeongin smiled. “Tired from dancing already?”

“Yeah, kinda.” The dancer chuckled. “And uhh, I saw those two on the couch and I know that you’re not, like, actually together, but I was wondering if you were okay with it. Because I’ve told them I am.”

Seungmin blinked at the taller. Was he actually asking if _he_ was okay with this? When Hyunjin was the one who had to see his ex snuggle someone else like that. “Yeah— Yes. You knew that already.”

“Yeah, I know, but tomorrow’s your wedding.” Hyunjin leaned a bit closer and Seungmin got a bit warmer. He saw Jeongin silently shuffle away from the corners of his eyes as he looked at the older. 

“I know.” It came out more sad than he had planned and Hyunjin’s concerned expression told him he had picked up on it.

“What is it?” The black-haired boy caressed a hand along Seungmin’s arm, making him shiver. Hyunjin’s dark eyes were glossy with concern, eyebrows slightly knitted. 

Seungmin didn’t know what he should say. He couldn’t exactly tell Hyunjin about his feelings for him, could he? What was the point in that? He guessed maybe it could help him feel better. It could clear things up. He could finally know if Hyunjin had kissed out of something more than just emptiness.

“Does it have something to do with… the fact that _you_ want to kiss someone?” Hyunjin slowly brought the words out, expression unreadable to Seungmin in his flustered state. 

“Maybe?” His voice cracked and he swallowed. Hyunjin’s hand was still on his arm and he felt the tips of his ears burn. 

“You know… I was thinking about that— About when you told me on the phone that it was okay that I kissed you because you kissed me back and—” _Oh fuck. He heard that? Of course he heard that! I freaking said it to him!_ Seungmin’s heart was pounding loudly against his ribcage as he waited for Hyunjin to continue. 

“And today you said you had feelings for someone while committed to someone else… I just thought you weren’t really the type to, uhh, you know— Uhh— What I mean is that I thought it was more likely for you to have feelings for someone while committed to Minho, who you never had feelings for— I’m also assuming _that_ , right now—”

“Hyunjin.” Seungmin stopped him and the boy blinked at him, immediately obeying and shutting up. “Where are you going with this? Because, get to the point, maybe?”

“You’re right. What I wanted to say— or ask— is if you wanted to…” Hyunjin trailed off, looking away for a brief second and wetting his lips. “Was it about me? Because I think I wouldn’t mind it. No, scratch that, I know I wouldn’t mind it.”

To say Seungmin died right that second would be an understatement. The way Hyunjin’s fingers were now resting on top of his and he was looking at him with shyness but also with something Seungmin didn’t dare to give a name to right now, it made Seungmin very glad he wasn’t tipsy anymore. It didn’t make him less captivated by the older.

“It was about you, yes.” He whispered, because Hyunjin was looking at his lips and it looked way too much like he was going to kiss him. For some reason, though, he thought it was a good idea to make Hyunjin stop that by kissing him himself. Yeah, that was definitely the best move right now.

And so he surged forward to place a short kiss on Hyunjin’s lips. He shouldn’t be surprised to find Hyunjin chasing him, placing a hand on Seungmin’s neck to pull him forward into another kiss, but he still gasped into it. He took Hyunjin’s shirt into his fists, grasping it tightly as Hyunjin moved his lips against his. It was so good. 

Hyunjin reseated himself and tilted his head to deepen the kiss, a gesture Seungmin welcomed eagerly. Only a second later he realized what they were doing and slight panic overtook him, so he grabbed Hyunjin by his upper arms and pulled back.

“Shit. Uhh. Let’s not— Maybe everyone should leave.” He was very much out of breath. He stood up and ran a hand along his face and through his hair, which was a little damp from sweating. What the hell had possessed him to do that?!

“Wait! Seungmin— I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it like that, I guess I’m still a bit tipsy… But I really do like you!” Hyunjin took a hold of his hand, looking at him pleadingly. “Minnie, it’s okay, right? I mean, Minho has someone, so…”

“So I should have someone as well? You? Is it because you pity me? Is it because you miss Jisung and I like you, so it’s easy? Because I kiss you back?” Seungmin tried to wring his hand loose, but Hyunjin tightened his grip. He couldn't look at him. 

“No! Of course not! You're my friend, I would never do that to you. Do you— Do you think so low of me?” Hyunjin's words made Seungmin's stomach drop. 

“No… I think the world of you…” He muttered and he felt Hyunjin pull himself up using his hand, which he kept holding. Hyunjin tried to catch his gaze, but he avoided it. 

“And I think the world of you.” The dancer whispered as he wrapped Seungmin in a hug. Seungmin had a half a mind to return it. Although it was comfortable, his rational mind told him to send everyone home so he could get some sleep before the big day tomorrow. 

“It's late. I think everyone should go home.” He gave Hyunjin the best smile he could muster right now and added softly, “Let's talk later.”

The taller gave him an understanding smile and his head a light ruffle, before turning to the couch to motion Minho that they would go home. Chan insisted helping clean up before leaving and Minho argued he couldn't help because Jisung was asleep on top of him. Changbin was also too tired to move, but he provided 'moral support'. 

After that they all said their goodbyes before waking up Jisung and leaving. 

“That was a lot of fun, wasn't it?” Minho patted Seungmin's shoulder. “I even saw you and Hyunjin—” 

“I just wanna wash my face and sleep right now.” Seungmin didn’t want to be reminded of what happened with Hyunjin, of what he and Hyunjin had done. It was too late.

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Okay, then.”

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Hyunjin woke up in cold sweat. _FUCK! I fucking kissed Seungmin last night! No, wait_ — _He kissed_ me _!_ That was bad, right? Or not? Because— He really liked Seungmin. He really did. He wasn’t fooling himself, right? It could be bad that he kissed someone the day before his wedding, but then again, so did Jisung.

“Frick!” Hyunjin jumped at the sudden profanity beside him and saw Jisung shoot up. They looked at each other, both wide eyed. They kept sleeping in the same bed until Hyunjin would find something of his own, it wasn’t like they hadn’t done that as friends as well.

“What?” Jisung asked, as if he hadn’t been the one waking up while swearing.

“What what?” Hyunjin asked back.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Jisung gestured vaguely at the taller.

“Why did you wake up saying _‘frick!’_?” Hyunjin pointed a finger back at him and Jisung mouth formed an ‘o’ in understanding.

“Ah! Yes, that! Uhh— I kinda kissed Minho last night.” The younger was chewing on his bottom lip, probably having similar things occupying his mind as those Hyunjin woke up with. 

“Same.” He mused, without thinking.

“What?!” Jisung turned to face the older, eyes comically wide again.

“No! I mean, I didn’t kiss _Minho_ as well, I meant that I kinda woke up the same mood, because I kissed Seungmin… uhh… well, he kissed me last night.” Hyunjin quickly explained and Jisung let out a breath of relief.

“Oh. Of course. That makes way more sense.” He spoke to himself before meeting Hyunjin’s gaze again. “Did you like it?”

He hadn’t expected that question in particular, but it was a good one nonetheless. He nodded, it had definitely been nice. He felt himself warm up at the recollection. Jisung cooed at him.

“Cute!” He patted him on his arm. “But, uhh, I guess you now have the same problem as I do… He’s getting married today.”

“Yeah… that, and Seungmin seemed to be pretty troubled about the whole kissing situation as well.” Hyunjin sighed and Jisung gave him a compassionate look. 

They got out of bed and washed up, lightly complaining about their love lives to each other every once in a while. It felt good to talk about things with Jisung this easily again. Jisung told him that he honestly didn’t really want Minho to marry anymore, especially since Seungmin might have feelings for Hyunjin as well. Hyunjin also didn’t really want them to marry, but mainly because he saw that Seungmin didn’t want it.

He didn’t exactly feel like he was in a position to object to them marrying at all, though. That would be pretty selfish. Jisung thought it would be selfish of himself too, if _he_ would object, but Hyunjin thought he had a real reason, he and Minho really really liked each other.

They would meet up with the rest at Changbin's to get dressed for wedding, except for Felix, since he was Minho's best man. Chan would pick them up and drive them all to the wedding, he really was their personal taxi driver. 

When Chan came to pick them up, they greeted Jeongin in the passenger’s seat. As they drove to Changbin’s apartment, Jisung suggested texting a supportive message to the soon-to-be weds, which they did. Hyunjin hoped they wouldn’t be too nervous or stressed for today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof


	25. A reason to call it off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He silently caught up with them and let out a weird loud sound to startle the group, grabbing Chan's shoulders for extra effect. Minho laughed, satisfied with himself as every single one of them jumped in surprise, Hyunjin flailing dramatically. 
> 
> They all turned around and Felix appeared out of the dressing room from where Seungmin was asking what was going on. 
> 
> “Minho scared the shit out of us!” Jeongin exclaimed. Minho grinned at his slightly annoyed expression, which was unlike Chan who was laughing, Changbin and Hyunjin who were still recovering from the shock and Jisung who was—— crying?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wedding time! part one
> 
> minho just wants to see his cats...
> 
> enjooooyyy

“Hey, Minnie… Psst! Wake up!” Minho shook his fiancés shoulder lightly, but the younger hid himself under the sheets with a groan. Minho sighed and rolled his eyes, since when did he have to be the responsible one? “Yo, Seungmin, wake up! We have a lot to do today.”

Seungmin relented and threw the covers down with a sigh, revealing his extreme bedhead. It made Minho chuckle. The younger groaned again. “You’re right… I’m going to take a shower first.”

It was obvious Seungmin wasn’t exactly looking forward to today, which was completely understandable. He also probably wasn’t looking forward to seeing his family. Minho wasn’t either. He had met Seungmin’s family, they were… pretty stuck up. He had some fun cousins he sometimes told about, though.

Minho  _ was _ looking forward to seeing his own parents, though. They would bring his cats with them and he had really missed them. Both his parents and his cats. 

While Minho waited for Seungmin to finish showering he checked his phone, but then he heard a faint melody coming from the bathroom.

Seungmin was singing in the shower again. Minho walked closer to listen more closely, because he wasn’t singing very loudly. The younger was singing something Minho didn’t immediately recognize, but it sounded kind of cheerful, unlike his mood just a couple of minutes ago. He really had a good voice, Minho was sure he would make a great singer.

After washing up they already made their way to the venue with Felix to check up on everything. The Kims were also already present.

“Good morning sweetie, Minho! Everything’s coming along great so far, don’t you guys think?” Seungmin’s mother greeted them and Minho bowed politely to her and her husband.

“Hi mom, dad.” Seungmin nodded to them. “It’s looking nice, yeah. Thank you for helping us prepare.”

“Of course, son. We’re looking forward to seeing the friends you made here.” His dad clapped Seungmin on the shoulder. “We’ve also heard good things about your work, as well as Minho’s. Look at you! Getting married, doing well in your job… Proud of you, son.”

Minho pressed his lips together at the statement. Maybe he should excuse himself before he blurts out something he shouldn’t. He apologized and quickly left after nudging the younger to talk to them some more, maybe speak about his feelings about his job or for Hyunjin.

Anyway, it was not his business. He did feel like there was something nagging at him to take matters into his own hands, after all, Seungmin wasn’t the only one with objections about the marriage. Minho felt his phone buzz. A message from Jisung.

He was secretly hoping for the message to be an excuse to call everything off right now, something like that Jisung or his friends needed their help  _ right now _ , or, maybe, just Jisung plainly saying that he didn’t want them to marry each other. Just something. Instead, it was a message from the group wishing them luck in advance. Minho contemplated sending him a message back, he secretly wanted them to come early.

Minho sighed and pocketed his phone.  _ Time to get ready, then. _ Felix helped him with everything and when Seungmin came in as well, he also wasn’t bringing any news, he brought just another sour expression. Felix tried cheering him up and it helped, but it didn’t exactly do wonders for either of the two. 

That was it, Minho was texting Jisung to tell him he really didn’t mind it if they’d come early and give them some strength before the ceremony. Felix would probably also appreciate having some company other than two grumpy heads.

Jisung texted back that they were almost finished getting dressed and that they would come as soon as possible. He also said Jeongin was already hurrying them up because he wanted to see Felix as soon as possible. Minho didn't fail to let his cousin know, making Felix blush heavily. 

“They're coming already? Everyone?” Seungmin was having his hair done by someone hired by his parents and moved a bit too much for his liking, judging from the frown on the man's face. 

“Yeah, it'll be good to see them before the ceremony, I think. And Felix has something to ask a certain someone.” Minho explained. The look on his fiancés face was switching rapidly between content, uneasy and sort of hopeful. 

“Okay.” He said eventually.  _ Okay.  _

Minho was done getting ready and was just about to check on how everything was coming along when the others arrived. He saw them looking around for someone they recognized, so Minho hid himself behind a pole. He watched them greet some staff and talk to them, moving towards the dressing rooms after. 

He silently caught up with them and let out a weird loud sound to startle the group, grabbing Chan's shoulders for extra effect. Minho laughed, satisfied with himself as every single one of them jumped in surprise, Hyunjin flailing dramatically. 

They all turned around and Felix appeared out of the dressing room from where Seungmin was asking what was going on. 

“Minho scared the shit out of us!” Jeongin exclaimed. Minho grinned at his slightly annoyed expression, which was unlike Chan who was laughing, Changbin and Hyunjin who were still recovering from the shock and Jisung who was——  _ crying?!  _

Minho's stomach dropped at the sight of the younger who was trying to hide his tears. It was heart wrenching. Had he really scared him  _ that _ much? 

“Hannie?” Minho made his way over to Jisung to comfort him and he was immediately joined by a concerned Hyunjin and Chan. Changbin offered him a handkerchief and Jisung used it to hide his face in. 

“Did I scare you too much?” Minho couldn't tell if this was the type of crying he could solve by making fun of it or not. He hadn't ever seen Jisung cry before, after all, so he didn’t know how to deal with it. 

“No… Just—” Jisung's words were muffled by the handkerchief and choppy because of sporadic sobs. “You look so pretty! I promised myself I wouldn't— I wouldn't cry when I'd see you today— but— here you go, scaring the life out of me— looking like  _ that _ !” 

Minho couldn't hold back laughter now. Was he really crying because of Minho’s looks? Chan was almost cackling and hit Jisung on the shoulder. “Sung! Don’t make us worry like that!”

“I can’t help it!” Jisung sniffed. Changbin laughed and pushed the younger into the dressing room where they saw Seungmin still getting his hair done. The brown-haired boy looked at the group coming in and greeted them.

“Why is Jisung crying?” He asked them.

“He thinks I look too handsome. And I scared him.” Minho patted the boy on his back and Jisung grumbled softly. Seungmin chuckled.

“It’s not  _ just _ that.” Jisung mumbled.  _ Not just that? What else? Is he sad I'm getting married? Can I use that to put a stop to this?  _ Minho wanted to ask about it, but before he could, another conversation already started. The inevitable conversation about how everything was coming along blablabla. Tiring. 

He saw Hyunjin slightly eyeing Seungmin, he supposed those two had something to talk about as well. He waited for an opportunity to ask Jisung about things, but then Seungmin's parents came in, bringing Minho's parents along with them. 

“Mom! Dad!” He ran to them, wrapping them in a hug. The rest also greeted them. 

“Long time no see, Minho! How are you? You're looking great. Hi, Felix!” His mom almost ruffled his hair, but Minho expertly dodged. 

“I'm doing fine. These are my friends, by the way.” He gestured to the rest and his parents were about to introduce themselves before Minho cut them off for more important matters. “Where are my cats?” 

His father let out a laugh. “Always caring more about those little ones than anything else. You sure you don't want to wait until after the ceremony to see them? You might not be able to let them go in time if you see them now. ” 

Minho supposed his dad had a point, so he accepted his cruel fate to wait for his cats for a little longer. He also supposed this may be another reason to call off the wedding, so he could see his cats earlier. When he turned to look at his fiancé he saw he was speaking to his parents, introducing them to the rest. 

His own parents followed and asked Minho to introduce the rest to them, since they had a little more time to spare before the rest of the guests would arrive. This meant he didn't have any time to spare to talk to Jisung or Seungmin or anyone else to make up his mind about calling everything off right now. 

Because of course his parents wanted to talk a bit with everyone, they didn't even finish talking and keeping him and his friends busy when the first guests arrived. Gosh darn it. 

“Time to leave! Let's go. See you soon, darlings.” Seungmin's mom announced as she hurried everyone except for the two about to get married out. Minho wanted to take the opportunity to speak with Seungmin for a second before the ceremony, but Seungmin didn't seem to want that. 

“Can it wait? We have to go soon as well, I need to find the rings.” Seungmin just left like that and Minho plopped down on a chair with a deep sigh.  _ Are we really going to do this? _

  
  


Before he knew it, the guests had all arrived and it was time for the ceremony. Seungmin hadn’t shown himself too much and now it was definitely too late to talk to him. Minho tried to not watch the audience too much as he waited for Seungmin to walk down the aisle, but he couldn’t help sneaking a peek. He saw Jeongin smiling to Felix who was standing next to him.

Hyunjin was alternating his gaze between the two cousins and to the back, anticipating Seungmin just as much as Minho was. Chan, Changbin and Jisung were smiling at him, just as most of his family was. Jisung discreetly pointed to the side, where Minho’s parents were sitting with his cats in their laps.

Minho almost cried seeing them. He had missed his cats so much. Jisung was finally meeting them as well. A sudden overwhelming feeling washed over him as he thought back on the events of last night, as he saw Jisung clutching the handkerchief he had gotten from Changbin, as he thought of Seungmin singing in the shower.

Seungmin came walking down the aisle and the way Hyunjin watched him together with the way Seungmin was looking at Minho, made Minho sure of it. He needed to put a stop to this. When his fiancé arrived next to him, the priest behind them began talking immediately, but Minho didn’t listen to him. Seungmin didn’t seem to do so either.

“Hey, psst! Min!” Minho tried to get Seungmin’s attention. The younger finally looked him in the eyes, a slight frown on his face. 

“What?” Seungmin whispered.

“Let’s not do this?” It came out as a question, but he was quite sure what the answer was. For him at least.

“What?!” Seungmin repeated. “Are you— Are you serious?”

“Yes. You don’t want to call it off?” 

“Of course I do!”

Minho had to stop himself from laughing. Seungmin then asked him what his plan was. He didn’t have one of course. But he’d think up a plan while the priest was blabbering. Or… he could of course just be dramatic and say no when then the guy would ask him if he’d take Seungmin as his husband.

“Do you, Lee Minho, take Kim Seungmin to be your husband?” The man asked, finally. Minho felt Seungmin squeeze his hands, a silent approval for his plan. He hoped.

“I do  _ not _ .” He said.

“And, Kim S— Wait, excuse me?” The priest’s eyes were comically wide and whispers were heard from the guests. Minho let go of Seungmin’s hands and took a deep breath.

“I’m not marrying him.” He repeated as he turned to the guests and he saw Seungmin smile in his peripheral vision. He could clearly see the back of about fifty persons’ throats and  _ whoops _ , Seungmin’s parents weren’t looking particularly happy. The whispers slowly became louder and louder as the Kims stood up from their chairs.

“I agree with Minho. I don’t want this either.” Seungmin joined him, thank God. 

  
  


“Is this your idea of a joke?!” Seungmin’s father was red from anger, but he kept his voice down. He probably didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of everyone, Seungmin thought. “Whose idea was this?” 

“It was mine.” They said simultaneously, but Seungmin turned to look at Minho.  _ Let me deal with my parents, please! _ “Minho— Let me handle this. It’s not a joke, dad. We don’t want this.”

“And thus you decide to embarrass us in front of the whole family?!” He could just hear his father above the noise from the guests. His mother tried to calm the man a bit. 

“Don’t worry, guys, stay calm! Nothing’s happening, give us some time.” His father turned to the guests. Seungmin felt anger boil up in his chest.  _ Nothing’s happening?! They’re still not listening?! _

“Seungminnie, why didn’t you tell us you didn’t want this?” His mother reached for his arm, but Seungmin wasn’t having any of this. He shook her off.

“Would you have listened?” He asked in return. “I tried to tell you I didn’t want to marry, that I didn’t like law school, but did you listen to me?”

“We— We did that for your own good, you know that.” His mom swallowed. “I mean, look at you! You’re a successful lawyer, you make good money, you have nice friends from what we’ve seen and if you marry Minho right now, you’ll have everything you could ever wish for, right? Minho is your friend, he’s handsome, nice… what’s the big problem?” 

“The problem is that—” He began, raising his voice, but he was cut off by Minho. 

“The problem is that we don’t love each other. I’m in love with someone else.” Minho stated and pushed Seungmin back a little. It really didn’t help.

“Minho, please. It’s not completely because of that. It’s everything. I’m too young. I want to be free to date whoever I want and I want Minho to be free to be with whoever he wants as well. I want to make my  _ own _ choices!” Seungmin explained some more. Before either of his parents could respond, Minho’s parents joined them.

“Everything okay over here?” Minho’s father asked and at that moment, Doongie escaped his grip and ran away and hid below an empty chair. Minho wanted to go after him, but his father stopped him. “Doongie can wait, Minho. What’s going on?”

“We don’t want to marry each other. Wasn’t that clear already? We can still party, though. Maybe we can celebrate me seeing my cats again after so long.” He told his parents and Seungmin heard his own scoff at his words. Maybe it was better if he took this somewhere else.

“Mom, dad, let’s go inside for a bit, okay?” Seungmin motioned them to come in with him and gave his friends a reassuring nod while walking past them. A few guests asked what was going on and his parents told them the three of them just needed to talk for a bit, which was pretty much what was going on, indeed.

They didn’t need to  _ just _ talk for  _ a bit _ , though, Seungmin had  _ a lot _ to say to them. A lot of things he was determined to finally tell them. He was finally going to follow Hyunjin’s advice. He was grateful for Hyunjin giving him a smile when he walked past him. It gave him the strength he needed.


	26. You deserve something like that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course Doongie would come to inspect his hand now and he almost jumped when he felt something hairy against his hand. It was a good distraction from the fact that Minho had just called him perfect, though. Although, maybe he had just been referring to Doongie. Maybe.
> 
> “Hey! You’re finally accepting me. Thank you, Doongie~” He cooed to the cute cat. Jisung actually had a cat allergy, but whatever. It would be fine to pet the cat for a while, he was outside after all. He was distracted from petting the cat by a pair of feet coming from under white slacks. 
> 
> “Look, Soonie! It's Hannie! Hi, Doongie~ You like him? You do, huh? Not as much as I do, though~” Minho crouched next to Jisung and the cat, holding Soonie in one arm and scratching Doongie behind the ears with the other, but Doongie stayed sniffing and examining Jisung's hand and knees. Minho smiled at the sight and then at Jisung. “Doongie is usually not this friendly. I had a feeling my cats would like you, though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wedding part two! some soft minsung plus cats content and hyunjin goes to the bathroom
> 
> enjooooyyy

Jisung spotted an orange and white creature speed away from where Minho, Seungmin and their parents were standing. He followed it until it came to a stop under an empty chair. _Doongie?_ He looked back and saw Minho trying to follow him, but he was held back by his father. 

Jisung looked around to see if anyone would go to the cat, but when no one did, he sneakily made his way over to the chair and crouched next to the cute creature. He held out his hand. “Hey, Doongie! Hi there, cutie. Come here, let me pet you. I have Minho’s permission.”

Doongie looked his way at the mention of Minho’s name but didn’t move. He sighed, but then he heard Minho and his parents speak and now that he was closer to them, he could actually make out what they were saying if he concentrated. He concentrated on the sound.

“Minho, please take this seriously.” His father sighed. 

“I am. I’m in love with someone else and Seungmin just wants to make his own decisions.” 

Jisung felt his cheeks heat up at the words. _He’s in love with me?_ He guessed he was in love with Minho as well— scratch that, he _knew_ he was. 

When Minho had scared them earlier today, Jisung had burst out in crying because one, he was startled, two, Minho was looking absolutely gorgeous, way prettier than when they had gone shopping together, and three, he realized he was in love with the man, just by seeing him that moment. He didn’t want him to marry Seungmin.

He had missed what Minho’s parents had responded to that, but Minho was speaking again. “It’s him— Oh my gosh. Look at that, mom, dad. He’s looking after Doongie! Isn’t he perfect?”

Jisung whipped his head around, his whole face burning up as he saw Minho’s parents looking at him. Minho was looking at him with the sweetest expression he had ever seen in his entire life and if he wasn’t already burning up, this would have definitely burned him alive. 

Of course Doongie would come to inspect his hand _now_ and he almost jumped when he felt something hairy against his hand. It was a good distraction from the fact that Minho had just called him perfect, though. Although, maybe he had just been referring to Doongie. Maybe.

“Hey! You’re finally accepting me. Thank you, Doongie~” He cooed to the cute cat. Jisung actually had a cat allergy, but whatever. It would be fine to pet the cat for a while, he was outside after all. He was distracted from petting the cat by a pair of feet coming from under white slacks. 

“Look, Soonie! It's Hannie! Hi, Doongie~ You like him? You do, huh? Not as much as I do, though~” Minho crouched next to Jisung and the cat, holding Soonie in one arm and scratching Doongie behind the ears with the other, but Doongie stayed sniffing and examining Jisung's hand and knees. Minho smiled at the sight and then at Jisung. “Doongie is usually not this friendly. I had a feeling my cats would like you, though.”

“Not as much as you, apparently.” Jisung winked at the older in a surge of confidence, but he regretted it immediately as he saw two pairs of feet— Minho's parents were standing _right_ behind him. He didn't notice Minho slightly blushing. 

_Oh my gosh, I'm absolutely embarrassing myself, what should I do?! Let's pretend I didn't see them, I guess._

“Everything okay, by the way? You think Seungmin will survive?” He asked and Minho nodded. He then looked up at his parents and then at Jisung again before standing up and holding out a hand for Jisung to take. 

Jisung let himself get helped up by the older, who intertwined their fingers instead of letting go. He couldn't really pretend to not see Minho's parents now, so he gave them a polite smile and nod. 

“Han Jisung, huh? You like our son as well?” Minho's father looked him up and down, eyes judging. 

“Dad! Don't make him uncomfortable! Jeez.” Minho sighed and then turned to Jisung with a lazy smile. “He likes me a lot.”

Jisung let out a breathy laugh. He focused on Minho, to ease the anxiety that came with dealing with important strangers such as the parents of the man he's in love with. “Not as much as you, though. Or do I?” 

“I don't know. Do you?” Minho challenged, but Jisung saw his composed expression falter for a second in insecurity. 

“Depends on how much you like me.” He shrugged. He guessed he wasn't confident enough to confess his love in front of Minho's parents, but he did feel like he should at least reassure Minho and his parents that he seriously liked the choreographer. “But maybe I do, because I like you a whole lot.”

Minho's face lit up and he turned to his parents. “See? My cats like him, he likes my cats, I like him, he likes me… Everything I need. It's all there.”

Jisung snickered and Minho's parents laughed. They nodded and told him they already believed him before, but that they were just curious about Jisung. 

“You can talk to him another time. He first needs to meet Dori. And pet Soonie. And then play with them until Seungmin arrives or until his allergy gets bad. You guys can sit down for now.” Minho ordered his parents around, but they accepted with a smile. He put Soonie down and went to fetch Dori from someone who Jisung guessed was his family as well. 

They were probably getting some curious or judging looks, but the guests could also be occupied with gossiping or theorizing about what was happening. Jisung just focused on introducing himself to Minho's cats, there was nothing he could do to help Seungmin right now anyway. 

“I— I, uhm, heard you say you were in love with me to your parents.” Jisung whispered while petting Dori's small body. He lifted his gaze to look at the older. 

“Oh.” Minho kept his eyes fixed on Dori. The same insecurity from before appeared from behind the twinkle in his eyes. Jisung took his hand in his own, squeezing it lightly. 

“You know why else I cried earlier?” He asked as he let Doongie walk over his lap only to decide the ground was more comfortable to lie down. Maybe it was better to not get too much cat hair on his clothes, though.

“Because you were hungry?” The older snickered at his own words and Jisung half-heartedly shoved him. 

“Try again.” 

“Because my cats are cute.” The older fondly cooed at his little ones and Jisung chuckled. 

“I hadn't seen them yet.”

“Because a fly had just flown into your eyes.” Minho was just naming random reasons. Jisung was too busy stopping himself from laughing too loudly to correct him, though. “Because you remembered a time when you saw Chan in his underpants.”

“No! Almost.”

“Really?” Minho looked up at him, eyes wide. 

“No! I'm kidding!” Jisung laughed. “Why would I cry about seeing my friend in his underpants!” 

“I'm tired of guessing.” Minho sighed and ignored Jisung’s question. They were still holding hands. “Tell me.”

“Okay.” Jisung took a breath, fidgeting with Minho's short fingers a bit. “Uhh— It was also because I kind of realized that I'm… that I'm in deep. I'm in love with you too, Minho.”

Minho fell silent and he stopped moving as well. Jisung tried to catch his gaze, tried to make eye contact, but the older dodged his attempts. “Minho…?” 

Jisung let go of the hand he was holding to gently hold the choreographer's face and turn it toward him. His heart jumped as he saw watery eyes blink away forming tears. 

“What is it?” Jisung moved his thumbs along Minho's cheeks, scanning the other’s face. 

“I actually just blurted it out when I was talking to my parents…” Jisung's stomach dropped. “But when I saw you crouched, trying to get Doongie's attention, I knew that it was true. I really didn't expect you to— to feel the same. I've never had— something like that.”

A big smile was tugging on his lips as he pulled Minho into a tight embrace. He didn't care about the gasping and whispering around him, he had made up his mind. He would give Minho all of his love and more, he deserved that. He squeezed him tight one more time before letting go again. “You deserve something like that.”

Just at that moment it became a lot more noisy around them and when Jisung looked up he saw why. 

* * *

Hyunjin watched as Seungmin took his parents inside and gave him an encouraging smile. He hoped things would go well for him. Jisung was petting one of Minho’s cats somewhere in the front and he saw Minho and his parents make his way over there as well. He wanted to know if everything was okay with them, but he couldn’t really ask anyone.

Maybe he could go inside under the guise of needing to go to the bathroom. At least he could see Seungmin’s expression then. He also still wanted to talk with Seungmin about what happened during the party last night, but he guessed now was not a particularly good time.

“You think they’re okay?” He asked either Jeongin or Chan, or even Changbin if he had heard him.

“I think so?” Jeongin guessed and he showed a thumbs up to Felix, who returned it with a nod and a thumbs up as he mouthed something with ‘Minho’. At least things were okay with Minho. 

People were whispering and talking about all kinds of things around him, especially about Seungmin. Hyunjin guessed they were family, since he heard them saying things about his parents as well, some people addressing them by first name. Some things made him pretty uncomfortable to hear, _‘Seungmin rebelling, huh? Didn’t expect that. Or was it that fiancé of him? You’d think they’d pick a good one, though.’ ‘I heard Seungmin wants to throw his whole career away as well. Isn’t it a little late to go through a rebellion now?’_

“I’m going to look for the bathroom inside for a bit.” Hyunjin stood up and Chan looked up at him with a look that said he knew what he was going to do other than look for a bathroom. 

“Good luck.” He said with a nod. 

Hyunjin made his way over to the building and he saw Seungmin talking with his parents just inside. When he opened the door, they all turned to look at him. 

“Sorry! Just looking for the bathroom.” Hyunjin bowed a little to Seungmin’s parents before making eye contact with Seungmin. Seungmin looked at him with a surprised expression before smiling slightly. Hyunjin returned the smile and forced himself to walk away after.

“That was Hyunjin…?” He just heard Seungmin’s mother begin the sentence, but he didn’t know if they had been talking about him, or if she just asked because they had met briefly earlier today. 

When he returned from the bathroom, he had hoped to make it past the Kims without too much trouble, but Seungmin’s father stopped him. “Hyunjin, please come here for a second.”

“Dad! I told you about ten times now that it isn’t anyone’s fault that I want what I want! I hated law school ever since I enrolled there. I’ve loved singing ever since I was young and Hyunjin has done nothing except for being nice to me.” Seungmin tried to get his father’s attention, but he seemed to ignore his son. Hyunjin thought it was better to just obey Seungmin’s slightly intimidating father and walk over. They seemed to have been talking about Hyunjin for a bit as well.

“Hyunjin…” Seungmin tried to stop him and Hyunjin had to admit his heart was pounding harshly against his ribcage. It definitely didn’t help that Seungmin’s hands brushed his.

“Hyunjin, look, we just want what’s best for our son. You need to understand that.” Seungmin’s mother told him and he nodded.

“I want that too. I’ll support him in everything he decides to do.” Hyunjin hoped he wasn’t speaking before his turn. He really didn’t know who he was dealing with. Seungmin’s eyes widened at him before he turned back to his parents.

“Exactly. Everything _I_ decide to do. On my own. I don’t care if it doesn’t work out because I have people on my side, supporting me.” The way Seungmin stood his ground while facing his parents, the way his eyes shined with determination and passion filled Hyunjin’s stomach with butterflies. He was reminded of how Seungmin had said he had a lot to learn from Hyunjin, but Hyunjin thought Seungmin was the admirable one now. He couldn’t help but stare.

“Well— You’re a grown man. You can make your own decisions.” Father Kim swallowed as if he still wasn’t totally convinced.

“We will support you in everything as well, Minnie, we always have done, you know that, right?” Seungmin’s mother added and Seungmin nodded. It was silent for a bit and apparently the conversation was over with that, because Seungmin grabbed Hyunjin’s hand, startling him, and dragged him with him outside.

“Wh—” His breath was caught in his throat as he tried to understand what exactly was going on. Was the conversation really over? What had he missed?

Seungmin didn’t stop walking until they were both outside and even then he didn’t let go of his hand.

“Everything is fine, guys. The ceremony is cancelled, but we still have the venue reserved until tonight and we have a buffet later, so I guess we’ll start with the reception a little earlier.” Seungmin’s father announced, but half of the eyes of the guests were on Seungmin— and him?

Seungmin let go of his hand now, unfortunately. He still wanted to talk to the boy, about a lot, but he guessed there were a lot of others who wanted the same. At least he had seen first hand that everything was sort of okay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho's cats are the main characters from now on


	27. You only think that because you’re an angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Where’s Jisung?” Changbin asked before Felix could do anything. “Is he okay? Is it too crowded in here? He’s not alone, is he?”
> 
> “He’s not! Last time I saw him he was outside with Minho, helping him hide from our family for a little longer. I don’t think Minho’d leave him alone.” Felix said and he saw Chan, Hyunjin and Changbin visibly relax. He turned to Jeongin now. He wanted to speak, but the words were caught in his throat. He had forgotten how handsome Jeongin looked in a suit. Jeongin smiled at him and Felix felt his cheeks heat up.
> 
> Chan snorted. “You want a little alone time with Jeongin, Lixie?” 
> 
> “You guys are sooooo cute!” Hyunjin squeaked and cooed at them. Jeongin rolled his eyes.
> 
> “Lixie?” The younger raised his eyebrows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wedding part three: The Reception. 
> 
> that means jeonglix and more seungjin!
> 
> enjooooyyyy

As the guests made their way into the venue, to the hall, Felix looked around to see if he could spot one of his friends. He saw Minho and Jisung were still in the front, apparently waiting until most of the guests were inside. Minho was kind of hiding, because Felix saw some of their family looking for him before going inside and Minho ducking in response. Understandable.

He made his way over to the two, but stopped when he saw them give each other such a sweet kiss that he thought they might’ve not noticed him approaching.  _ Oh, should I interrupt them? Maybe I should go inside… Minho will get enough questions from our family. I’ll wait until later.  _

_ Besides, I have something to ask someone else today.  _ He left Minho and Jisung behind to go inside and look for his other friends. He waded through the crowd, stopping every once in a while to greet a family member of his or sometimes even someone from Seungmin’s family and speak with them for a bit. They all wanted to speak to either Minho or Seungmin, so his catch-up sessions were kept short.

Finally he spotted his friends, all together, as expected, they didn’t really know any of their family. Well— Chan knew his parents, but he had probably already spoken to them. He waved to his friends and updated them on what he had heard from Seungmin and Minho’s conversation with their parents. Hyunjin in turn told him what he had heard after going to the bathroom.

Hyunjin hadn’t seen Seungmin after that, as the younger was pulled away by curious families. Felix felt pretty bad for him, he knew how Seungmin’s family could be. He also knew how his own family could be sometimes. He supposed he couldn’t do anything about it right now, so he should probably carry out his other plan.

“Where’s Jisung?” Changbin asked before Felix could do anything. “Is he okay? Is it too crowded in here? He’s not alone, is he?”

“He’s not! Last time I saw him he was outside with Minho, helping him hide from our family for a little longer. I don’t think Minho’d leave him alone.” Felix said and he saw Chan, Hyunjin and Changbin visibly relax. He turned to Jeongin now. He wanted to speak, but the words were caught in his throat. He had forgotten how handsome Jeongin looked in a suit. Jeongin smiled at him and Felix felt his cheeks heat up.

Chan snorted. “You want a little alone time with Jeongin, Lixie?” 

“You guys are  _ sooooo _ cute!” Hyunjin squeaked and cooed at them. Jeongin rolled his eyes.

“Lixie?” The younger raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah! Uhm— I had something I wanted to ask you, actually.” Felix fidgeted with his jacket’s sleeves a bit, suddenly getting shyer and more nervous than he had planned. He straightened himself and tried to let Jeongin’s shy smile ease his nerves. 

“Okay!” Felix took the younger’s hand and guided him to a bit of a quieter spot. He could now hear that soft music was playing below the chatter of the guests. He reached out for Jeongin’s hand and squeezed it.

“You should prepare yourself to not scream. Unless you want to scream, of course.” He told the younger. He was kidding of course, but he knew the younger could be loud without realizing it. Jeongin giggled and it was really really  _ really  _ cute, Felix wanted to squeeze him tight. As tight as they were squeezing each others hands right now.

“Okay. No guarantees, though. You know I have a thing for ruining moments.” Jeongin grinned and Felix lightly hit him with his free hand.

“What are you talking about! You don’t ruin any moments!” Felix scolded him.

“Remember the sound I made when you kissed me—?” Jeongin began, but he was cut off by Felix’s laughter.

“That was adorable, though!” 

“You only think that because you’re an angel.” Jeongin huffed and Felix thought he was going to explode before he could even ask Jeongin what he wanted to ask him. He kind of felt like screaming.

“Innie! First of all— I’m not an angel—”

“You  _ are _ .”

“Second of all!” Felix announced a little more loudly, so that Jeongin might get the message that he really needed him to let him finish now. He took a deep breath. “Can I call you mine?” 

Jeongin was caught in a giggling fit, probably because of Felix’s cheesy line. “Hell yeah you can.” 

The younger smiled so brightly Felix was utterly blinded and then he tugged on his hand, pulling him closer. Jeongin had to take a moment to stop smiling before he could pull Felix into a loving kiss. Felix let go of Jeongin’s hand to place his hands on the sides of Jeongin’s neck, while the younger wrapped his arms around Felix’s waist. 

When they parted, they met eyes and Felix marveled at those fox like eyes, he couldn’t believe how fond they were looking at him. He also couldn’t believe that Jeongin really thought he was an angel. Felix closed his eyes again and leaned forward to kiss Jeongin again, moving his lips against Jeongin’s slowly.

He looked around to see if anyone was watching them, but most of the guests were preoccupied speaking to others. Felix did see Jisung had joined the others, but no sign of Minho or Seungmin anywhere. No one was really paying attention to them as they were standing in a pretty quiet corner of the hall, where they could actually hear the music, so Felix thought of an idea.

“You wanna dance with me for a bit? Make sure this music doesn’t go to waste?” He proposed.

“I suck at dancing, though.” Jeongin pressed his lips together apologetically.

“I don’t mind if you step on my feet.” Felix smiled at the younger who immediately mirrored it. 

“Okay then.” He nodded and they took each others hands again to slowly and playfully dance around in their spot. Felix knew they still had the whole night to go, but he wouldn’t mind going on like this for another couple of hours.

* * *

Seungmin had had enough. He had enough of talking to everyone and repeating himself countless of times, trying to think of the most likeable and most realistic answer to questions he hadn't had time to think about himself. It was tiring. 

Sometimes he bumped into people who had spoken to Minho already, but wanted to hear it from his perspective, or they had more questions. He hadn't even had a chance to speak to Minho since he had spoken to his parents. 

Suddenly music was playing in the hall— or had it been playing at a low volume this entire time? Was this a sign he finally finished talking to everyone? He didn't even know he had this much relatives! 

He was startled by a hand on his shoulder.  _ Oh man, not  _ another  _ relative, please!  _ He turned around with a fake smile, but was relieved to see Minho. The older barked out a laugh. 

“That smile was even more strained and awkward than the one you had this morning!” He snickered and Seungmin just let out a chuckle disguised as a breath. 

“How do you still have any life in you?! Didn't you have to talk to everyone as well?” Seungmin shook his head at the older. 

“I'm better at making them keep it short. And I don't know ninety percent of your family, so I guess they're more inclined to talk to you than to me.” Minho shrugged. Then he met Seungmin's eyes and raised his eyebrows. “But… Are you okay? Things turn out okay?” 

“Yeah. I guess. At least everyone seems to accept the fact that I want to make my own decisions from now on.” Seungmin told him. He then sighed and dragged a hand over his face. “But— There's still a lot I'm uncertain about. There's still a lot to figure out and stuff. I don't even know where to start. I didn’t tell them about Hyunjin explicitly, you know, that I like him and stuff, because it’s all still so uncertain. I told them how thankful I was to him, though. But… There’s still a lot.”

“One step at a time, Minnie. One step at a time. Let's be glad for now. Celebrate the small things.” Minho gave him a smile and Seungmin felt better. The man was right. One step at a time. 

“What about you?” He asked in return. Minho smiled again and it was a genuinely happy one. 

“Jisung met my cats. They like him.” The older said fondly.  _ Of course he's over the moon about that.  _ Seungmin felt like this wasn't the only thing Minho was happy about, but he'd hear it if the other ever felt like telling him. 

“Do they like him more than they like you?” He teased. 

“No! Not yet. Although, Doongie may already like him more than me.” Minho casually looked around, stopping when he spotted their group of friends, all dancing to the music. Seungmin felt a lot lighter now. He should celebrate the small things. 

He took a hold of Minho’s wrist and tugged him along to the group. “Come on, let’s dance.”

They came over to their friends and joined the group dance. It wasn’t as much party music as some of the songs they had played at the bachelor’s party that Chan, Changbin and Jisung had made, but they could make it work nonetheless. Seungmin just jumped around mostly, forcibly shaking any nerves he had earlier.

After a while he loosened up more and joined the rest in doing more crazy dance moves. Seeing the smiles on his friends’ faces did quite the wonders for his mood. He looked around to see most of his family having fun as well. He had really been worrying so much for so little.

When some slower songs started playing— He should’ve expected it, really, this was a wedding after all— his gaze unconsciously strayed to the tall black-haired dancer. Hyunjin felt it— or his gaze also was attracted by Seungmin like a magnet— because he immediately turned to look at him as well. Maybe slow dancing with Hyunjin would be a good opportunity to talk.

He wasn’t surprised to see Jeongin and Felix instantly take each other’s hands, Minho and Jisung soon following. Chan clapped Hyunjin on the back and made eye contact with Seungmin. “You guys can go dance together as well, if you want. It’s fine. We’ll entertain ourselves with some cocktail nuts and drinks.”

Changbin snickered and followed Chan to the bar. Jisung yelled something after them about not eating  _ too much _ cocktail nuts. Hyunjin chuckled and Seungmin wondered if there was yet another story behind that. The taller then held out his hand for Seungmin to take. Seungmin took it and let himself get lead along by the dancer.

They met eyes and Hyunjin smiled shyly, making a blush spread across Seungmin’s cheeks.

“So—” “Seungmin—” They spoke simultaneously, and any tension between them was broken as they chuckled. 

“You first.” Hyunjin said. “It’s your wedding.” 

“Okay.” The dancer twirled him around before he let him continue. “I actually wanted to talk to you about what happened last night.”

Hyunjin hummed, prompting him to continue, but he had to think about how to say what he wanted to say. It was kind of hard to concentrate when he was holding hands with Hyunjin, standing close to him, swaying about.

“I’m sorry for accusing you of kissing me because it was easy and you missed Jisung, that was mean and unasked for. I just—” He looked away for a second, sighing, before locking eyes with the black-haired boy again. “I just was a little out of it… I didn’t want to believe you because back then I thought there would be no way to call off the wedding on such a short notice and… yeah. I don’t know. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, you said I mean the world to you after... And— You’ve done it now, haven’t you? Wedding’s off, you told your parents you want to make your own decisions, about your career as well as your life in general, so… that's good, right? You did that, despite all of your insecurities. I think that’s something to be proud of.” Hyunjin seemed to pretty much ignore the fact that Seungmin had been mean to him, instead making sure Seungmin was okay.

“Yeah, that’s good. Definitely good.” Seungmin involuntarily smiled and Hyunjin twirled him around again, suddenly dipping him down after. Seungmin held on tight. “Woah!”

The older scooped him up again and Seungmin bumped against his chest. Suddenly they were very close. “I… uhh… I also wanted to thank you for saying you support me in everything I decide to do. It means a lot.” He whispered against Hyunjin’s face, just loud enough to be heard above the music from such a close distance. “Also thank you for showing me how nice it can be to just be yourself and do what your passionate about. It made you into a wonderful person, so surely it can’t hurt for me to try as well.”

“Jeez… Minnie! You’re making me feel all warm again.” Hyunjin nuzzled his nose against Seungmin’s cheek and then hid his face in the crook of his neck. “Of course I’ll support you in anything. Thank  _ you _ for always being there for me as well. You were there for me when having my best friend around didn’t do me any good, you listened to me vent and called me to check up on me at times I really needed it. I really appreciate it.”

They were more hugging than dancing now, but it was fine. It was great, actually. “Minnie…?”

“Yeah?”

Hyunjin pushed them apart gently, so they could look at each other properly. His eyes shined with something Seungmin dared to call  _ longing _ . “Can I kiss you?”

Another smile was tugging at his lips as he nodded and took Hyunjin a little more to back of the hall. Hyunjin twirled Seungmin around again and then dipped him down to plant a chaste kiss on his lips. Seungmin couldn’t help but giggle, the giggle evolving into full on laughter as Hyunjin dipped him down even more. He was tightly latching onto Hyunjin’s arms so he wouldn’t fall backwards.

When the older pulled him up again, he stole another kiss before placing a couple more along his cheeks. Seungmin gladly received them. His wedding might even become really really fun like this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i haven't got the slightest clue if cocktail nuts are a thing in any other country and if they're even called that for that matter, but whatever  
> i trust google translate on this one and im too lazy to do more research! 
> 
> i hope you enjoyed another sappy chapter from your resident softie...!


	28. I definitely don’t want to give up anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You don’t want something stronger?” Changbin nodded to Minho’s drink, he was slightly slurring. Apparently Chan and Changbin had been having fun at the bar on their own. Chan was now dancing with one of Minho’s cousins and Changbin was wiggling around with a drink in his hand. His cheeks were slightly red.
> 
> “Nah. Don’t really feel like getting drunk tonight. Got drunk enough yesterday.” He shrugged and Changbin accepted it.
> 
> “Okay, well— I’m not drunk either…! And besides— it’s not like they’re not setting up the buffet right now. I’ll be sober again in minutes!” Changbin clinked their glasses together for some reason and then went back to spinning around on the dance floor. Yeah sure, he’s not drunk, Minho snickered and shook his head. He hoped the guy wouldn’t fall down from spinning that much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wedding part four: the last part! a long minsung chapter  
> were almost at the end!
> 
> enjoooooyyy

After dancing around freely more than he had in a while and having the best slow dance in his life with Jisung, Minho joined Chan and Changbin at the bar. The buffet was probably not far away from being ready as well, but he was already getting pretty thirsty and hungry. He shouldn’t drink too much, though, he thought.

“You don’t want something stronger?” Changbin nodded to Minho’s drink, he was slightly slurring. Apparently Chan and Changbin had been having fun at the bar on their own. Chan was now dancing with one of Minho’s cousins and Changbin was wiggling around with a drink in his hand. His cheeks were slightly red.

“Nah. Don’t really feel like getting drunk tonight. Got drunk enough yesterday.” He shrugged and Changbin accepted it.

“Okay, well— I’m not drunk either…! And besides— it’s not like they’re not setting up the buffet right now. I’ll be sober again in minutes!” Changbin clinked their glasses together for some reason and then went back to spinning around on the dance floor.  _ Yeah sure, he’s not drunk, _ Minho snickered and shook his head. He hoped the guy wouldn’t fall down from spinning that much.

“Bin’s drunk already? Chan doesn’t seem too sober as well, haha!” Minho jumped at the sudden voice. It was Hyunjin. Since when had he stopped dancing with Seungmin?

“Oh, hi, ‘Jin. Did Seungmin leave you?” Minho nodded at the younger who sat down on the bar stool next to him.

“Uhh— Kind of? He is with Jisung.” Hyunjin ordered a drink and grabbed a handful of cocktail nuts to munch on.  _ With Jisung? _

“I thought Jisung went to the bathroom…?” Minho looked around and he indeed saw Seungmin and Jisung together, doing… what exactly? He snorted. “ _ What _ are those two doing!”

Hyunjin turned around and began cackling. “They—! Just before I left, Jisung asked Seungmin if he learned slow dancing from me and he was convinced he was better at it than Seungmin, but Minnie asked him the same thing and then somehow Jisung came with the idea to hold a slow dance battle, but, like, together or something, but they obviously both have no idea how to lead the other. I don’t think they agreed on something like that. I— I’m also not sure if they’re still slow dancing…?”

“Whatever they’re doing, I think they’re having fun.” Minho grinned at the sight. Jisung was doing some sort of ballet around Seungmin who tried to hit him on the head with his fists (?). “I’m surprised they didn’t ask us to be judges or something.” 

“Jisung told me I don’t know anything about ballroom so I wouldn’t be a good judge.” Hyunjin snickered. “Seungmin said you would be biased.”

“I’m not biased!” 

“Whatever you say~”

  
  


When the buffet was ready, a line immediately formed there. Minho, who had just been dragged into playing judge despite Seungmin’s complaints, decided to wait before getting something to eat. Jisung excused himself to check on Chan and Changbin, see if they were eating all right and doing alright in general. He came back, running excitedly with a smile so big and bright, Minho supposed it was enough to light up the whole hall.

“There’s really sushi! Gosh, I’ve been craving that for  _ weeks _ ! Did you really arrange that?” He took Minho’s hands and shook them up and down. 

“I made sure, yeah.” Minho shrugged, but couldn’t hold back a smile. His mouth was starting to hurt from smiling so much around the younger. Butterflies still dominated his stomach at times like these.

“Chan and Changbin are eating well, by the way. You want to drink something while we wait?” Jisung was already tugging on his hands, but Minho resisted.

“Nah.”

“No?” Jisung halted and turned around. He made a ‘:]’ face and then ruffled Minho’s head lightly. “Okay. What do you wanna do, then?” 

“You can drink something if you want and I’ll gladly join you, but I’ll just wait until we have dinner to drink.” Minho appreciated Jisung being mindful of him, but he wanted the younger to have fun as well. Not that he didn’t think Jisung would have fun drinking, he didn’t exactly seem the type to party like Chan and Changbin were doing, but he should be able to do what he wants.

“Okay! I don’t really want that, I just asked in case you wanted to.” 

“I’d like to dance some more, since I haven’t done that to the fullest tonight, but the line should shorten soon, so we can also wait until after.” Minho was unconsciously playing with Jisung’s hands and Jisung opened his mouth to say something but then he looked down at their hands. He moved his thumb around on the back of Minho’s hand while Minho was tapping a rhythm on the back of Jisung’s with his other hand, stroking a finger along Jisung’s short fingernails every once in a while.

“Is there…” Jisung began, eyes still on their hands. He didn’t finish the sentence as his eyes widened when Minho started humming along with the rhythm. Minho saw Jisung was trying to catch his eyes and a small smile formed on his lips.

“Are you humming my song?” Jisung asked. Minho flicked his eyes up to check the other’s expression which was a mix between surprise and happiness.

“Line at the buffet ‘s pretty short now, let’s eat.” Minho evaded the question and started walking, taking Jisung with him by their interlocked hands.

“Minho!” He almost whined.

“What?” Minho didn’t bother looking back at the younger, because his expression would almost certainly betray his true intentions, especially to Jisung. The boy sighed.

“Were you humming my song? I couldn’t hear well because of the music in the background!” He was still trying, cute. They arrived at the buffet and Minho let go of Jisung’s hand to grab them two plates to fill up. “Okay, if you’re just going to totally ignore me, then I’ll just assume you  _ were _ humming my song.”

“You do you, sweetie.” Minho grabbed some sushi to put on Jisung’s plate and gave him a fake sweet smile. Jisung gasped dramatically.

“I now get why Seungmin filed a divorce with you.” He huffed but still thanked Minho under his breath. 

“ _ Seungmin _ filed the divorce? No way.  _ I _ called off this whole shabam.” Minho threatingly held up the wasabi, he had learned Jisung didn’t like spicy food as much as he did when he was planning what to cook for their double date.  _ Wow, that seemed like a long ass time ago. _

“No! Keep that green stuff away from me!” Jisung held his plate up and away. “You don’t have to grab food for me, by the way. I can handle it. I don’t trust you anymore.”

When they had filled their own plate to their liking, they joined their other friends at a big table in the dining hall. Some time into eating, Minho remembered Jisung had started a sentence which he hadn’t finished. He poked the younger with the back of his chopsticks.

“Ya, Hannie.” He swallowed his food and Jisung turned to him, his cheeks full of food. He really looked like a squirrel like that. Jisung just tilted his head in question. “You started a sentence earlier, but you didn’t finish. What did you wanna say?”

Jisung frowned, probably trying to remember what Minho was talking about. Before he could say anything— or swallow his food, for that matter— a server came to their table, asking if they would like anything to drink. Most of his friends ordered something alcoholic and Minho wondered if he should too. 

Maybe he should. This was a party where he knew almost everyone pretty well, after all. It would be fine. He had drunk with exactly the people who were sitting at this table before. He ordered something as well and Jisung turned to him after the server was gone.

“I was about to ask if there was a particular reason for why you didn’t want to drink until you had food, but I had forgotten you already had something to drink. You’re a responsible drinker.” Jisung stuffed more food into his already full cheeks. He was surprisingly intelligible considering his mouth— well, his cheeks, mostly— were full of food.

“Yeah.” Minho decided to answer. 

He kind of regretted having that drink after he finished his food. He had had a second serving of food, but he still felt tipsy. He hated that, especially since he was sort of in public. He needed to remind himself that he was with people he trusted, but still.

  
  


Jisung noticed something was off about Minho. After having food Felix suggested they’d dance some more, but Minho hadn’t reacted the way Jisung would expect. Earlier he said that he wanted to dance some more, but now he didn’t look too excited anymore. 

Jisung swung an arm around the older. “You okay there, bud? What happened to  _ ‘I haven’t danced to the fullest tonight’ _ ?”

“Yeah. Just going to the bathroom first.” Minho tried a smile, but Jisung saw the look in his eyes and he recognized it immediately. It wasn’t a good look. The older started walking but Jisung grabbed him by the hand. 

“Wait a second. What’s going on?” Jisung wanted to be there for him, because that anxious look in his eyes hit a little close to home, and he knew he would want Minho to be with him during those times as well.

“Nothing— I just want to drink some water and go to the bathroom.” Minho squeezed their hands together before loosening his grip, but Jisung refused to let go yet. The older let out a breathy and half-hearted chuckle. “Ji, I can handle going to the bathroom by myself.”

“I’m coming with you—”

“You don’t need—”

“I need to go as well.” It was kind of a lie, he went before eating, but he had drinks since, so it wouldn’t hurt to go again. He just needed to go with Minho.

“Okay, let’s go then.”

They made their way to the bathroom in silence and when they arrived, they both stopped, not getting in a stall. They were still holding hands, but the silence weighed heavy on them. Minho wasn’t looking at him.  _ What is suddenly going on? _

The older let go first and went into one of the stalls and Jisung followed his example. He tried to think of anything he might have done wrong, but couldn’t.  _ Does this have anything to do with that he didn’t want to drink? But… I’ve seen him drink plenty of times before. Is it something I said? _

He shook the thoughts away, imagining he flushed them away with the water in the toilet.  _ If Minho wants to tell me or needs to tell me, he will. Right?  _ He got out of the stall and washed his hands. 

It took a while before Minho appeared from his stall and gave Jisung another forced smile before washing his hands. The choreographer also tried to drink from the tap, but the way the sink was shaped didn’t really allow for a good drinking experience. 

“Do you want me to ask the bartender for a glass of water?” Jisung’s voice cracked when he spoke up and he cleared his throat. Minho slightly snickered at him.  _ Good _ . He then turned to Jisung with a real smile.

“No, that’s fine. Let’s dance!” Minho grabbed his wrist almost excitedly, but not quite there yet, Jisung thought. He got a whiplash from the sudden change in the older’s mood.  _ What just happened? _

When they were on the dance floor again, Minho seemed to be back in his usual spirits and Jisung didn’t know if he should just go along with it or ask Minho about it. Whatever ‘it’ was. 

“Why are you looking at me like that, Sungie~?” Minho trailed a finger along his jaw, flirtily dancing around him. Jisung took this as a sign to go along with the older and he began dancing along, giving the choreographer his best smirk as an answer. 

To be honest, he was in for some relaxing after worrying about a lot of things, from the break up with Hyunjin to Minho and Seungmin marrying. None of those things were something he had to worry about right now and if Minho wanted to dance as if nothing had just happened, Jisung would dance as if nothing had just happened as well.

He pulled the older close, so they were dancing mere centimeters away from each other. The lights in the hall had gone down and more of a party ambience was present. Minho looked equally beautiful in the faint colourful light as he did in daylight. The way Minho was looking him up and down made Jisung confident enough to close the already tiny gap between them even more and to let his fingers dance along Minho’s waist.

He had danced with Minho about three times already, but never had he kissed him while dancing. Not even when they were slow dancing earlier today. Jisung was definitely planning on changing that tonight. 

Minho wrapped his arms around Jisung's neck loosely, accepting the gesture of getting closer with a playful smile painted on his face. Jisung captured the smile, pressing their lips together in a soft kiss. He felt his body buzz as Minho returned the kiss, their lips dancing around each other. 

At the same time, they opened their lips to deepen the kiss and Jisung wanted to let the older in, but he pulled back and placed his hands on Jisung's shoulders, leaning away from him. He was slightly panting and looked away, blinking as if he had to get used to sudden sunlight. 

“Minho?” Minho was applying slight pressure on his shoulders, keeping his upper body at a safe distance. He could easily escape Jisung’s grip by pushing harder, but he didn't. The look on his face reminded him of that time in the coffee-shop, when Minho had just found out that he and Hyunjin might have been engaged. At that time, talking seemed to have helped, but he wasn't talking now. “Please talk to me? It looks like you are having a hard time— Like you're anxious about something, or uncomfortable. I don't know what to do to help you.” 

“It's not your fault.” Minho breathed, still looking away, everything about him screamed that he was uneasy. 

“That's fine, but what can I do to help? You wanna go outside with me? Do I have to get you that water? You wanna see your cats? Want me to leave you alone?” Jisung just named anything that could maybe help, since talking apparently wasn't on the menu right now. He loosened his grip on Minho to give him an opportunity to leave without saying so. 

“Outside… Uhh, I'm going out for a bit.” Minho's expression had become pretty neutral, but Jisung could hear he wasn't fine. From the words he said to the uncharacteristic wavering of his voice and the slightly off look in his eyes, there was something bothering him. “If you want, you can come outside after a bit too.”

He didn't clarify why the younger could come outside after a while too, but Jisung understood that it meant he would appreciate it if he'd come outside after a bit.  _ Right?  _ How long was 'a bit', though? Was it five minutes? Ten? Half an hour? Did he have enough time to talk to others in between? Should he just check his phone for a while and then go outside? 

The older was already out of sight before Jisung could ask him how long he should wait before going after him.

What should he do outside, exactly? What if he went outside and 'a bit' wasn't over yet? Would Minho tell him? Would he see it in the other's expression? Or in the way he would stand or sit? Where was this 'outside' even? The front of the building? The parking lot? The place where the ceremony was held? There were too many questions. 

Would Minho mind it if he asked someone else what to do? Maybe he shouldn’t do that, just in case. He decided to gather some courage and ask the bartender for a glass of water. That wasn’t weird, right? Probably not. He had offered Minho to ask the bartender for some water earlier, but now that Minho wasn’t here, that task seemed a lot more dreadful, suddenly. Either way, he went over to the bar and asked for a glass of water to take with him for Minho after ‘a bit’.

After that he didn’t know what to do anymore so he just decided to walk around outside for a while, starting in front of the venue and around the parking lot because it was least likely for Minho to be there. He probably looked stupid, walking around in his fancy suit with a glass of water in his hand outside, but then again, nobody was around to see him—  _ except for that server taking out the trash over there _ . After enjoying the fresh air for a bit, he went inside again, it should be ‘a bit’ later now, he thought, and he made his way through the hall to the door leading to the garden where the ceremony would have taken place. He saw a flash of orange speeding by.

_ Ah, Minho’s definitely here. _ He opened the door slowly, checking if there weren’t any cats slipping inside past him, and closed it behind him. He saw Minho’s back, the older was sitting on the deck— the chairs had been tidied up since the ceremony— and it looked like Minho was stroking one of his cats. 

Jisung walked over and before he sat down, Minho looked back and up at him, his face more relaxed than before— than ‘a bit’ ago. Dori was asleep on his lap and Minho was gently patting the soft fur. Jisung sat down and crossed his legs, he heard Minho softly humming along with Dori’s purring. It seemed he had come the right time.

“I’ve come bearing gifts.” Jisung offered the glass of water to Minho.

“Thank you, kind sir.” Minho took the glass and gulped it down. He put the glass down behind him and took Jisung’s arm to pull him a little closer. “You came just at the right time.”

“Really—? I mean, of course I did. I knew  _ exactly _ what you meant by  _ ‘If you want, you can come outside after a bit too’, _ because that’s the most clear sentence anyone has ever said to me.” Jisung joked and Minho snickered. He didn’t seem sorry at all for being utterly vague. It didn’t matter, because apparently Jisung had come just at the right time. “You wanna talk?”

“Yeah, I’ll try. Not good at talking, though, as you might’ve noticed.” Minho still had his arms wrapped around Jisung’s arm and their knees were touching. “You know how Seungmin accused me of giving up on dating that one time?” 

Jisung paused for a moment, thinking about what he meant. Did he mean that one time when Seungmin and Minho were fighting in the café and Jisung didn’t know what to do? He nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” 

“You also know how I was pretty known where I used to live? I… uhh, kind of got hurt a couple of times, sometimes because of that…” Minho’s voice was low, as if he was speaking to the sleeping kitten on his lap rather than to Jisung. “Stupid young me thought it was a good idea to drink my sorrows away and hook up with random people after. I only did it a couple of times, but it never did me any good.”

Jisung was watching the older from the side silently. Minho was still looking down at Dori, his long eyelashes casting a shadow on his cheekbones. His side profile was really pretty. Minho flicked his eyes to the side for a second before looking down again, his head twitching in an unfinished movement.

“You want to lean on my shoulder? You can.” Jisung repeated the words Minho had once said to him after a particularly vulnerable moment of himself. Minho nodded and took him up on the offer, laying his head down on Jisung’s shoulder, still holding his arm.

“I kinda gave up on dating after that. When the whole arranged marriage thing came up, I thought it was a sign to give up completely. I didn’t know I’d meet you, though. Today you— Today I kind of realized that I definitely don’t want to give up anymore. You also told me… Things no one has ever told me before.” Minho held onto the smaller a little tighter and Jisung’s stomach was filled with butterflies. He placed a kiss on the top of Minho’s head before the other continued. 

“Tonight, I didn’t want to drink because I was sure it would remind me of the past. I did get kind of tipsy, but I thought it would be fine. I thought it would be fine if I just stayed around you. When we kissed— It was nice, don’t get me wrong, but I got really overwhelmed all of a sudden. I needed to be alone for a bit. It’s not your fault, I’m glad you’re here now.”

“It’s okay. I think I understand what you felt, sort of. Because I know what it’s like to get overwhelmed suddenly. Not that your situation is similar to mine.” Jisung gave Minho another kiss in his hair. At that moment Soonie came to investigate them, lazily walking around. Minho unwrapped one of his arms to stretch it out and get the cat to come to him and the tickle her under her chin. 

“If you have this kind of feeling every time you’re in a crowd… that must suck real hard.” Minho mused as Soonie settled down in the small space between their legs. Jisung shrugged. “It’s getting better, I try to believe. It doesn’t happen that often, because I kind of know what to avoid.”

“Cats don’t make you anxious, right?” Minho looked up at him and Jisung chuckled. Minho knew the answer to this, but Jisung decided to entertain him.

“No, of course not, they only make my nose clog up if I’m around them too long. It’s not their fault, though. I love cats. I love your cats already as well.” Jisung scratched Soonie behind her ear lovingly.

“Cats are way better than humans.” Minho nodded approvingly. “Especially my babies.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minhos cats make another return!
> 
> next chapter is the last one :0 ! thank you guys for reading and leaving kudos in advance :D


	29. This place needs a touch of Seungmin magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Found it!” Chan announced and Hyunjin sped over there to tackle the older who was already picking up.
> 
> “Ya! I said I’m picking up! Chan!!” Hyunjin tried to take his phone back from his curly haired friend who was groaning on top of a chair covered with left-over cardboard. 
> 
> “Speaker! Put it on speaker, ‘Jin!” Jisung somehow managed to jump over the couch without injuring himself to come over to them. Changbin, however, tripped about three times before arriving.
> 
> Hyunjin saw the call was already answered, so he just put it on speaker, only to hear a chorus of laughter coming from the phone. “Uhh— Hi?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter! 
> 
> enjooooooyyy

A phone rang.  _ Fuck! Where is it?  _ It was an absolute mess in here and the sound of his phone didn’t seem to be coming from his back pocket. Hyunjin slapped his own ass to make sure.  _ Nope, no phone. _

He threw the cardboard box he was holding away to go look for the damn thing.

“Whose phone is ringing?!” Changbin yelled. Chan and Jisung echoed the question as all four of them dove through the mess of cardboard boxes, styrofoam and plastic wraps to search for the sound.

“It’s mine! So  _ I’m _ picking up!” Hyunjin shouted at the others. Jisung bumped into one of the kitchen counters while searching, hopefully he would survive. Hyunjin didn’t have time to check because he needed to find his  _ phone _ . What if Seungminnie was calling? It probably was Seungmin, because who else would call him?

“Found it!” Chan announced and Hyunjin sped over there to tackle the older who was already picking up.

“Ya! I said  _ I’m  _ picking up! Chan!!” Hyunjin tried to take his phone back from his curly haired friend who was groaning on top of a chair covered with left-over cardboard. 

“Speaker! Put it on speaker, ‘Jin!” Jisung somehow managed to jump over the couch without injuring himself to come over to them. Changbin, however, tripped about three times before arriving.

Hyunjin saw the call was already answered, so he just put it on speaker, only to hear a chorus of laughter coming from the phone. “Uhh— Hi?”

_ “H— Hello, Jinnie! You guys are on speaker.”  _ Seungmin giggled on the other side of the line. Hyunjin immediately felt his legs become mushy at the sound of those cute giggles, he was missing Seungmin already.

“You are too.” 

“Hi Seungmin!” “Eyy Minnie!! Who else is there?” “Yoooooooooo!” The producers greeted the younger.

_ “Hi guys. Minho’s here too—”  _

“Ey!! Lee Know!” 

_ “HANNIE! Hi! Channie, Binnie! Hellooo!”  _ Minho and Jisung both interrupted Seungmin. Minho continued.  _ “Seungmin has some good news for you guys.” _

“You do?! What is it?” Hyunjin asked and his three friends came even closer in curiosity, their faces squishing together. Seungmin let out a laugh.

_ “I was actually planning on asking you about how moving was going first. How’s the new apartment?”  _ Hyunjin heard Minho sigh in the background and he grinned.

“It’s nice. It’s pretty close to everyone’s place and also to the studio, so I’m satisfied.” He looked around the room. “It’s still a bit messy and there aren’t big windows like at your place, but it’s nice enough. Nicer than my previous apartment.” 

_ “That’s good! I’m happy for you! Glad that you have your friends to help you unpack.” _

Hyunjin was glad for that as well, although Jisung was a natural at making things messy, Hyunjin hated being alone and when he was with his college friends, it was always a good time. Seungmin had offered to help as well, but he was busy, and Hyunjin didn’t blame him for it. 

“Yeah, they’re not making a mess at all.” He snickered and was immediately buried by protests and playful hits of his friends. He raised an arm to shield himself from the attacks, but instead he was jabbed in his stomach. “Ugh! Guys!! A— Anyway— Hey! Don’t you guys want to know the news?”

The three producers immediately stopped. “Of course we want to know! Seungmin, get on with it!” Changbin ordered.

_ “Okay, okay! Jeez. Are you keeping my boyfriend alive, by the way? I may need him.” _ Seungmin sighed and Hyunjin heard a teasing tinge in his voice. ‘ _ May’? _

_ “The bad news is that Minho isn’t moving out.”  _ Seungmin began, but was again interrupted by a certain choreographer.

_ “Hey! You can’t blame me. You have a nice apartment and I’m already used to living here. A divorced couple can still live together.” _

_ “We were never married.” _

_ “Whatever—” _

“Guys!” Chan laughed. Those two were quite like a divorced couple.

_ “Ah, sorry. The good news, yes. I quit my job!”  _ Hyunjin could hear the smile in the younger’s voice. He and his friends started cheering loudly for him.

“We should definitely celebrate!” Changbin exclaimed excitedly. This was a pretty big thing, especially for Seungmin. The younger preferred to have everything planned out and certain and he was already putting himself out there in terms of singing, but he didn’t have any certainty yet. 

“That’s great! I’m so happy for you!” Hyunjin spoke in a more normal volume despite his excitement, but he was sure his feelings would come across.

_ “I can put more time into singing now and I don’t have to be all grumpy all the time anymore! Not that you didn’t lift my mood every time I see you, Jinnie~”  _ The sweet words went straight to his heart.  _ He’s so sweet! _

_ “So, when will you four start a band? Maybe I’ll choreograph something for one of your songs and you’ll become famous!”  _ Hyunjin couldn’t hear if Minho was serious or not, but it was a pretty good idea. Maybe not about the dancing, though. Imagining Changbin dancing professionally made him snicker. 

“Hey now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves—” Chan began.

_ “You say that, but don’t you guys want that too?”  _ Minho was asking the real questions here. Hyunjin’s friends were suddenly very quiet, as was Seungmin. The three producers shared a look.

“We’ll talk about that another time, Hyunjin’s apartment needs our attention right now.” Chan broke the silence. He was right, this was probably not something they should be discussing over the phone. And above all, Hyunjin’s apartment was in dire need of some attention. However long he wanted to talk to Seungmin, he probably needed to hang up soon.

_ “That’s right. I have nothing more to say for now, I guess, so you guys can go back to unpacking.”  _ Seungmin said.

“We may need  _ you _ for cleaning, though, Min.” Jisung looked around and clenched his teeth. 

_ “I will definitely come over to clean someday, I still need to do some things today, though.”  _

“That’s fine! We’ll survive, I’m used to a mess. I’ve lived with Jisung.” Hyunjin told the other.

“Ya!” Jisung slapped him once again. “Guys, Hyunjin will have to hang up now! Sorry! Bye Mins! Love ya, my lovely Lee Lee Know!”

_ “Gross.”  _ Hyunjin wasn’t sure if it was Seungmin or Minho who said that or both, because he could imagine every one of those options. Jisung pressed the red button and started lightly hitting Hyunjin. 

“Why are you booing me? I’m right!” Hyunjin picked up the smaller and threw him on the couch before quickly running away from his wrath and hiding in the kitchen. “You’re doing better and better, though!” 

  
  


By the time they had unpacked most of the important things, it was already well into the evening. The four spread themselves out on the floor, on the sparse space that wasn’t occupied by boxes or stuff that they still needed to find a place for. Soon their relaxing session was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

Felix, Jeongin, Seungmin and Minho had come bringing food. They used a couple of sturdy boxes as makeshift table because Hyunjin doesn’t own a table other than the small desk in his bedroom. It was unconventional, but still pretty cozy like this.

“Ow! Gosh, this place really needs a touch of Seungmin magic!” Felix hopped on one foot after stepping on a stray cap of whatever the hell it might belong to.

“It’s not done yet!” Hyunjin called over and shook his head, but caressed Felix’s back as he sat down again, making sure the younger was okay.

He still had a lot to unpack and organize and he hoped to do it with his friends present, but having them come over after a long day, bringing food was fine too. He cuddled up against Seungmin and the two other couples followed, Jisung making sure to make heavy teasing eye contact with Chan and Changbin, who grabbed each others hand and told him they didn’t need romantic love to be happy.

Felix offered them some hugs, but Jeongin wasn’t letting him go. Hyunjin snickered at the sight and squeezed Seungmin in a sudden burst of happiness. He realized these seven boys made him quite happy, made his days a lot brighter, each in their own way. He was glad to have them in his life and was looking forward to spent more time with them in the future, supporting them in whatever they decided to do next.

  
  


_ End. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop! it's a wrap! thank you so much for reading!  
> i of course have some more cooking, but uni will start shortly after i post this last chapter, probably, so i don't know when that one will first see the light of day on here. it's an interesting concept inspired by edolas if anyone knows fairy tail lol
> 
> anyway thank you for reading and leaving kudos!
> 
> (you can find me on:  
> [Tumblr](https://skz-vla.tumblr.com)  
> And on [twitter](https://twitter.com/kersenvla) if you're interested! <3)


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